Full text of "Elements of elocution: in which the principles of reading and speaking are investigated ... with directions for strengthening and modualting the voice ... To which is added a complete system of the passions; showing how they affect the countenance, tone of voice, and gesture of the body. Exemplified by a copious selection of the most striking passages of Shakespeare. The whole illustrated by copper-plates explaining the nature of accent, emphasis, inflection, and cadence"

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ELEMENTS OF ELOCUTION :

IN WHICH

THE PRINCIPLES

or
READING AND SPEAKING ARE INVESTIGATED ;

AND SUCH

PAUSES, EMPHASIS, AND INFLECTIONS OF VOICE, AS ARE SUIT-
ABLE Ta EVERY VARIETY OF SENTENCE,

ARE DISTINCTLY POINTED OUT AND EXPLAINED : WITH

DIRECTIONS FOR STRENGTHENING AND MODULATING
THE VOICE,

so AS TO RENDER IT VARIED, FORCIBLE, AND HARMONIOUS.
TO WHICH IS ADDED

A COMPLETE SYSTEM OF THE PASSIONS;

SHOWING HOW THET AFFECT

THE COUNTENAINCE, TONE OF VOICE, AND
GESTURE OF THE BODY.

EXEMPLIFIED BY
A COPIOUS SELECTION OF THE MOST STRIKING PASSAGES OF

SHAKESPEARE.

THE WHOLE ILLUSTRATED BY COPPER-PLATES,

EXPLAINING THE NATURE OF

ACCENT, EMPHASIS, INFLECTION, and CADENCE.

BY JOHN VV ALKER,

JfOraOR OP THE CRITICAL PROKOUt^CING DICTIONART, iC^C.

" EST QUODAM PRODIRE TENU8."-— HOR.

BOSTON :

PUBLISHED BY D. MALLORY & CO.

ALSO BV LYMAN, MALLORY & CO. PORTLAND : D W. FARRAND & GREEN,

ALBANY WILLIAMS & WHITING, NEWYORK : B. B. HOPKINS & CO.

AND T. B. EANTZINGER & CO. PHILADELPHIA : P. H. NICKLIN &

CO. BALTIMORE : I. W. CAMPBELL, PETERSBURG (VIR.) ;

PATTERSON & HOPKINS, PITTSBURG : AND SWIFT &

CHIPMAN, MIDDLEBURY, (VERMONT.). ..1810.

J. T. eVCKlNCHAM, PRINTER,

A \ \ \

1810

ELEIMENTS

i*\ or

ELOCUTION.

207718

PREFACE.

Having had the honour, a few years ago,
to give publick lectures on English Pronuncia-
tion at the University of Oxford, I was some
time afterwards invited by several of the Heads
of Houses to give private lectures on the Art of
Reading, in their respective Colleges. So flat-
tering an invitation made me extremely anxious
to preserve the favourable impression I had made,
and this put me upon throwing the instruction
I had to convey into something that had the
appearance of a system. Those only who are
thoroughly acquainted with the subject, can
conceive the labour and perplexity in which this
task engaged me : It was not a florid harangue
on the advantages of good Reading that was ex-
pected from me, but some plain practical rules,
in a scholastick and methodical form, that woi'l-
convey real and useful instruction.

Mil PREFACE.

I This led me to a distinction of the voice,,
which though often mentioned by musicians, has
been but Uttle noticed by teachers of Reading* ;
which is that distinction of the voice into the

* In the first edition of this work I expressed myself with
a scrupulous caution, respecting this distinction of voice ; be-
cause, in a grammar written a century ago by Charles Butler,
of Magdalen College, Oxford, I found a direction for reading
the question beginning with the verb, not only in a higher
tone, but with a different turn of the voice from the other ques-
tion ; and in a grammar by Mr. Perry, of Scotland, about thirty
years ago, I found the same distinction of voice in the same case :
and, except in these two authors, I never met with this dis-
tinction in reading till the last edition of Enfield's Speaker ;
where, in Rule VII. of the Essay on Elocution, instead of the
old direction, Acquire a just variety of Pause and Cadcnccy I
found, Acquire a just variety of Pause and Inflection ; and though
in the old Rule there was not a single word about inflection of
the voice, in the new one I found the inflections of the voice di-
vided into two kinds ; the one conveying the idea of continua-
tion, the other of completion ; the former of which is called
the suspending, the latter the closing pause : — though, in a few
lines after, we find what is called the closing pause, is often ap-
plicable to members, when the sense is suspended. In these
new directions, too, I found the question distinguished into
two kinds, and the suspending and the closing pause applied
respectively to each I could not help congratulating myself,
that a doctrine I had published so many years before, began
to be adopted by so judicious a writer as Mr. Enfield. But
when I found it had not only been adopted, but acknowledged
by Mr. Murray, the Author of the best Grammar and Selection
of Lessons for Reading in the English Language, I found my-
self fully compensated for the misfortune of not being noticed
by the Autlior of the Speaker.

DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON,

IN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF

THE ASSISTANCE

GAINED FROM HIS LABOURS,

THE PLEASURE AND IMPROVEMENT

DERIVED FROM HIS CONVERSATION,

AND

THE OBLIGATION

CONFERRED BY HIS FRIENDSHIP AND ATTENTION

THE FOLLOWING TREATLSE

MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED,

THE AUTHOR.

PREFACE. i^

upward and downward slide, into which all
speaking sounds may be resolved : The moment
I admitted this distinction, I found I had pos-
session of the quality of the voice I wanted ;
for though these slides or inflections were indef-
inite as to their quantity or duration, they were
still essentially distinct, and were never convert-
ible into each other ; whereas all the other dis-
tinctions were relative ; and what was high
and loud in one case, might be soft and low
in another. Accordingly I found, upon pursuing
this distinction, that, provided the proper slide
was preserved on that word which the sense and
harmony required, the other distinctions of the
voice w^ere more easily attained : and if they
were not, the pronunciation was infinitely less
injured, than if every other distinction of the
voice had been preserved, and this single one
neglected. Here then commenced my system ;
infinite were the difficulties and obscurities that
impeded my progress at first ; but perseverance,
and, perhaps, enthusiasm, at last brought it to a
period.

Without any breach of modesty, it may be
asserted, that the general idea is new, curious,

PREFACE.

and important :land, without any false humility,
I am ready to allow, that the manner of treat-
ing it has too many faults and imperfections.
Besides those incorectnesses which are insepar-
able from the novelty and difficulty of the sub-
ject, it partakes of that haste, that interruption,
and want of finishing, which must necessarily
arise from the constant and laborious^ attendance
on pupils ; for, though nothing but long practice
in actual teaching could have enabled me to
construct such a system, it required the leisure
and liberty of independence to produce it to the
best advantage.

TO THE

SECOND EDITION.

WHEN the first Edition of this Work was published,
I considered the human voice as divisible into two inflections
only. Some time after, upon reconsidering the subject
more maturely, I found there were certain turns of voice
which I could not distinctly class with either of these two
inflections. This discovery mortified me exceedingly. I
feared my whole labour was lost, and that I had been fa-
tiguing myself with a distinction which existed no where
but in my imagination. None, but those who have been
system makers, can judge of the regret and disappointment
which this apprehension occasioned. It did not, however,
continue long. The same trial of the voice which assured
me of the two opposite inflections, the rising and falling,
soon convinced me that those inflections which i could not
reduce to either of these two, were neither more nor less
than two combinations of them : and that they were real
c'trcumfiexes ; the one beginning with the rising inflection,
and ending with the falling upon tlie same syllable ; and the
other beginning with the falling, and ending with the rising
on the same syllable. This relieved from my anxiety ; and I
considered the discovery of so much importance, that I im-
mediately published a small Pamphlet, called The Melody of

Xll ADV^ERTISEMENT.

Speaking Delineated ; in which I explained it as well as I was
able by writing, but referred the reader to some passages
where he could scarcely fail to adopt it upon certain words,
and perceive the justness of the distinction. I was confirmed
in my opinion by reflecting that a priori^ and independently
on actual practice, these modifications of the human voice
must necessarily exist. First, if there was no turn or inflec-
tion of the voice, it must continue in a monotone. Second-
ly, if the voice was inflected, it must be either upwards or
downwards, and so produce either the rising or falling inflec-
tion. Thirdly, if these two were united on the same sylla-
ble, it could only be by beginning witli the rising, and ending
witli the falling inflection, or vice versa ; as any other mix*
ture of these opposite inflections was impossible. A thorough
conviction of the truth of this distinction, gave me a con-
fidence which nothing could shake. I exemplified it, viva
voce, to many of my critical friends, who uniformly agreed
with me : and this enabled me to conceive and demonstrate
the Greek aiid Latin circumflex, (so often mentioned, and
so totally unintelligible to the moderns,) but occasioned
not a little surprise (sijice it is as easy to conceive tliat the
voice may fall and rise upon the same syllable, as that it
may rise and fall) why the ancients had the latter circum-
flex, and not the former. Some probable conjectures re-
specting this point, as well as the nature of accent, ancient
and mod^rrn, may be seen at the end of a Work lately pub-
lished, called A Key to the Classical Fronunciation of Greek and
Latin Proper Names.

CONTENTS.

FIRST PART.

Page

Introduction, Elocution defined 17

c^ General Idea of the common Doctrine of Punctuation 19

Introduction to the Theory of Rhetorical Punctuation 25

- Incotisistencies of the common Doctrine of Punctuation 27

Theory of Rhetorical Punctuation 31

Practical System of Rhetorical Punctuation 39

Introduction to the Theory of the Inflections of the Voice 70

Of the two simple Inflections of the Voice 71

Method of explaining the Inflections of the Voice 73

Another method of explaining the Inflections of the Voice 78

Utility of a knowledge of the Inflections of the Voice 88

Practical System of the Inflections of the Voice 91

Pronunciation of a Compact Sentence 92

Inverted Period 97

Pronunciation of a Loose Sentence 99

the Antithetick Member ] 05

the Penultimate Member 106

the Series 112

the Simple Series 116

the Compound Series 121

the Series of Serieses 129

the Final Pause, or Period, 136

the Interrogation 140

the Exclamation 162

the Parenthesis 167

XIV CONTENTS.

SECOND PART.

Accent 181

Accent defined and explained 185

English, Scotch, and Irish Accent, how they differ 187

Introduction to the Theory of Emphasis 188

Theory of Emphatick Inflection 202

Practical System of Emphasis 212

Single Emphasis 214>

Double Emphasis 224

Treble Emphasis ' 225

General Emphasis <232/

Intermediate, or Elliptical Member 236

Harmonick Inflection 24S

Harmony of Prose 250

Harmony of Prosaick Inflection$ 255

Rules for reading Verse 262^

Modulation of the Voice 286

Gesture ~ 301

The Passions 308

Tranquillity, Cheerfulne^ vvv 3i7

Mirth ^'^'"^^nitXirt 'ho.'.^'^% 318

Raillery '^'^^^'^ ^ fv "^^^ - 3^9

Sneer, Joy 320

Delight ' . 322

l^ve ' 323

Fity 325

Hope 327

Hatred, Aversion ♦ 328

Anger, Rage, Fury -^ 330

Revenger >A 332

Reproach • 333

Fear, Terrour, 335

Sorr'o'v 337

Remorse 311

CONTENTS^ XV

Despair -^ S4.2

Surprise, Wonder, Amazement, Admiration 344«

Pride 346

/ Confidence, Courage, Boasting 347

/ l*terplexity, Irresolution, Anxiety -«4'—' ■ — 349

' Vexation, Peevishness 351

Envy, Malice 352

Suspicion, Jealousy • 353

\ Modesty, Submission, 356

\ Shame, Gravity 357

Inquiry, Attention 358

Teaching or Instructing 358

Arguing - 360

Admonition '. « 361

jAuthority, Commanding 363

/Forbidding, Affirming 364

Denying, Differing '\> 365

Agreeing 366

Judging, Reproving ^ 367

Acquitting, Condemning 368

Pardoning 369

Dismissing, Refusing 370

Giving, Granting, S71

Gratitude, Curiosity 372

Promising, Veneratioa 373

Respect, Desire, Commendatioa 374

Exhorting 375

Complaining, Fatigie 376

Sickness 4, 377

PREMONITION

THE READER.

It may not, perhaps, be improper to inform the
Reader, that if he wishes fully to understand the fol-
lowing Work, he must first apply himself closely to
the acquiring of a just idea of the two radical dis-
tinctions of the voice into the Rising and Falling
Inflection, as explained. Part I. p. 82 and 84 ; and
Part II. p. 183. If, however, after all his labour,
the Author should not have been able to convey
an idea of these two distinctions of voice upon
paper, he flatters himself that those parts of the
Work, which do not depend upon these distinc-
tions, are sufficiently new and useful to reward the
time and pains of a perusal.

ELEMENTS OF ELOCUTION.

PART I.

Introduction.

xlLOCUTION, in the modem sense of the word,
seems to signify that pronunciation which is given
to words when they are arranged into sentences and
form discourse.

Pronunciation, in its hu-gest sense, may signify the
utterance of words, either tiiken separately, or in
connection with each other ; but the pronunciation

of words, ^r>iTnpptprl_int2^ <mifp]TPe^__^emR very

properly specilTed by elocution.

Elocution, therefore, according to this definition
of it, may have elements or pririciples distinct frora
those of prouuncialioii in its most iiinited sense ;
andjwe may consider the eltmcnrs of elocution, not
as those principles which constitute the utterance
of single words, but jjLlhQ:;;^- which fonu the j ust e-
n^mcidtion ojyLonl^ \\\ ^](-^(tiMU-^:^r^-iM^fPirh other for
seoseSs liTthis point the present work commences.
The delivery of words formed into sentences, and
th;se sentences formed inio discourse, is the object
of it ; and as reading is a correct and beautiful pic-
ture of speaking ; speaking, it is presumed, carinot
be more successfully taught, than b}- refen-ing us to
!iuch rules as instruct us in ti\e art of reading.

18 ELEMENTS OF

/ The art of reading is that system of rules, which
/teaches us to pronounce wiitten composition with
(Justness, energy, variety and ease. Agreeably to this
definition, reading may be considered as that species
of deliver} , which not only expresses the sense of
an author, so as barely to be understood, but which,
at the same time, gives it all that force, beauty, and
rariety, of which it is susceptible : the first of these
considerations belongs to grammar, and the last t6
rhetorick.

The sense of an author being the first object of
reading, it will be necessar}' to inquire into those
divisions and subdivisions of a sentence which are
employed to fix and ascertain its meaning ; this leads
to a consideration of the doctrine of punctuation, ,.
Punctuation may be considered in two different
lights > first, as it clears and preserves the sense of
a sentence, by combining those words together which
are united in sense, and separating those that are
distinct ; aiid secondly, as it directs to such pauses,
elevations, and dcpi ession§__of the voice, ^jiot oi.ly
murk the sense of the senteiice more precisely,' but
give it a vai iety aiid^'beauty which recommend it to
the ear ; for in speaking, as in other arts, the useful
and the i:greeable are almost always found to coin-
cide ; and every real embellishment promotes imd
effects the principal design.

In order, therefore, to ha^'e as clear an idea of
pinictualion as possible, it will be necessary to con-
sider it as lelated to grammar and rhetorick distinct-
ly. It wni not be easy to say any thing new on
punctuation, as it relates to grammiu' ; but it will not
be difficult to show, w hat perplexity it is involved in
when reduced to enunciation ; and how necessary it
is to understand distinctly the rhetorical as well as
grammatical division of a sentence, if we would wish
to ..n ive at precision and accuracy in reading and
sptakmg ; this will so evidently appeiir in the course

ELOCUTION. 19

of this essay, as to make it needless to insist farther "
on it here ; and as the basis of rhetorick and oratory-
is grammar, it will be absolutely necessary to con-
sider punctuation as it relates precisely to the sense,
before it is viewed as it relates to tlie force, beauty,
and harmony of language.

But the business of this essay is not so much to
construct a new system of punctuation, as to endeav-
our to make the best use of that which is already
estiiblished ; an attempt to reduce the whole doctrine
of rhetorical pimctuation to a few plain simple prin-
ciples, which may enable the reader, in some mea-
sure, to point for himself : for this purpose, it will,
in the first place, be necessar}" to exhibit a general
idea of the punctuation in use, that we may be bet-
ter enabled to see how far it will assist us in the
practice of pronunciation, and where we must have
recourse to principles more permanent and syste-
matical.

A general^Idsa oftlie common Doctrine of Punctu-
ation,

Some grammarians define punctuation to be the
art oi murkingin vvTiiingthe several pauses, or rests,
between sentences, and the parts of sentences, ac-
cording to their proper quantity or proportion, as
they lue expressed in a just and accurate pronun-
ciation. Others, as Sir James Buitow and Dr.
Bowles, besides considering the points as marks of
rest and pauses, suppose them to be hints for a dif-
ferent modulation of voice, or rules for regulating
the accent of the voice, in reading ; but \^'hether this
modulc-tiou of the voice relates to all the points, or
to the inieri ogation, exclamation, and parenthesis on-

36 ELEMENTS OF

ly, we are not informed. Grammarians are prett^f
generally agreed in distinguishing the pauses into

The period
The colon
The semicolon
The comma

marked thus-

and those pauses which are accompanied with an al-
teration in the tone of the voice, into

The inteiTogation ^ C ?

The exclamation > marked thus < !
The pai-enthesis ) ( ()

The period is supposed to be a pause double the
time of the colon ; rhe colon, double the semicolon ;
and the semicolon, double that of the comma, or
smallest pause : the interrogation and exclamation
points are said to be indefinite as to their quantity of
time, and to mark an elevation of voice ; and the
parenthesis, to mark a moderate depression of the
voice, with a pause greater than a comma.

A simple sentence, that is, a sentence having but
one subject, or nominative, and one liiiitc verb, ad-
mits of no pause. Thus in the following btntcncc :
The passion for praise produces excellent effects in
women of sense. The passion for praise is lije sub-
ject, or iioniiiiative case to the \\\h produces ; and ex-
cellent effects in women ofsense^ is the object or ac-
cusative case, with its conconiitant circumstances or
adjuncts of specification, as Dr. Lovvth very prop-
erly tenns thtm, and this sentence, sa} s the icari;cd
bishop, admits of no pause belv. cen an} of its parts ;
but when a new veri> is added to the sentciiCe, as in
the followint^ : The passion for praise^ uliich is so
very vehement in the fair sex, produces excellent ef-
fects in women of sense. Htie a iicw verb is iiiiro-

ELOCUTION. 21

duced, accompanied with adjuncts of its own, and the
sui>ject is repeated by the relative pronoun which :
it now becomes a compounded sentence, mdde up
of two simple sentences, one of which is inserted in
the middle of the other ; it must, therefore, be di .tin-
guished into its component parts by a point placed
on each side of the aclditional sentence.

In every sentence, theretore, as many subjects, or
as many finite verbs, as there are, either expressed or
implied, so many distinctions there may be : as,
My hopes^ fears^ joysy pa'ins^ all centre in you. The
case is the same when severiil adjuncts atfect the
subject of the verb : as, A good, ruise, learned man
is an ornament to the commonxuealfh ; or when sev-
eral adverbs, or ad\xTbiai circumstances affect the
verb : as. He behaved himself modestly^ prudent-
ly^ virtuously. For as many such adjuncts as
tliere are, so many several members dots the sen-
tence contain ; and these are to be distinguished from
each other, as much as several subjects or finite verbs.
The reason of this is, that as many subjects, finite
verbs, or adjuncts as there are in a sentence, so ma-
n\- distinct sentences are actually implied ; as the
first example is equivalent to, My hopes all centre
in you^ my fears all centre in you., &c. The second
ex.,!npie is cquiv, leot to, A good man is an oj'nament
to the commomvealtli^ a ivise man is an ornament to
tlie commonxvcalth., cnc. The third example Is e-
qiii'> -ieiii t(;, He behaved himself modestly., he heliav-
ed himself prudently^ '^c. \ and these implied sen-
tences are d\ o be distinguished by a comma.

The exception to this rule is, where these sub-
j' L-ts or adjuncts are uiiited In' a corijiniction : as,
7''Vc i})iagiuat}ou and the judgment do not always
a:;rcc ; aiid, A man nevrr becomes learned without
studying constantly and methodically. In these
Cu.->L^ .he comma between tlie suDjccts and adjuncts
is omitted.

2Si ELEMENTS OF

There arc sotne other kinds of sentences, which,
though seemingly simple, are nevertheless of the
compound kind, and really contain se^•eral subjects,
verbs or adjuncts. Thus in the sentences containing
what is called tlie ablative absolute : as. Physicians^
the disease once discovered^ think the ewe half
wrought ; where the words disease once discovered^
are equivalent to, when the cause of the disease
is discovered. — So in those sentences where uouns
are added by apposition : as. The Scots, a hardy
people, endured it all. So also in those where voca-
tive cases occur : as, This, my friend, you must al-
low me. The first of these examples is equivalent
to. The Scots endured it all, and The Scots, who are
a hardy people, endured it all : and the last to. This
you must allow me, and this my friend must allow
me.

When a sentence can be divided into two or more
members, which members are agidn divisible into
members more simple, the former aie to be separa-
ted by a semicolon.

EXAMPLE.

But as this passion for admiration, when it works according
to reason, improves the beautiful part of our species in every
thing that is laudable ; so nothing is more destructive to them,
when it is governed by vanity and folly.

When a sentence can be divided into t^^•o parts,
each of which parts are again divisible by semi-
colons, the former are to be separated by a colon.

EXAMPLES.

As we cannot discern the shadow moving along the dial-
plate, so the advances we make in knowledge are only per-
cfeived by the distance gone over.

ELOCUTION. 23

Here the two members, being both simple, are
only separuted by a comma. •

As we perceive the shadow to have moved, but did not
perceive it moving ; so our advances in learning, as they
consist of such minute steps, are only perceivable by the dis*
tance.

Here the sentence being divided into two eqiud
parts, and those compounded, since they include
others, we separate the former by a semicolon, and
the latter bv commas.

As we perceive the shadow to have moved along the dial,
but did not perceive it moving ; and it appears that the
grass has grown, though nobody ever saw it grow ; so the
advances we make in knowledge, as they consist of suck
minute steps, are only perceivable by the distance.

Here the advancement in knowledge is compared
to the motion of a shadow, and the growth of gi-ass ;
which comparison divides the sentence into two
principal parts : but since what is said of the move-
ment of the shadow, and of the growth of grass, like-
wise contains two simple members, they are to be
separated by a semicolon ; consequently, a higher
pointing is required, to sepiirate them from the other
part of the sentence, which they are opposed to :
and this is a colon.

When a member of a sentence forms complete
sense, and does not excite expectation of what fol-
lows ; though it consist but of a simple member, it
may be maiked with a colon.

BXAMPLIS.

The discourse consisted of two parts : in the first was shown
the necessity of fighting ; in the second, xhe advantages that
would arise from it.

24 ELEMENTS OF

The Ausfustan as;e was so eminent for good poets, that they~
have served as models to all others : yet it did not produce a-
ny good tragic poets.

When a sentence is so far perfectly finished, as
not to be connected in construction with the follow-
r ing sentence, it is marked with a period.
J Z^-" This is the most concise and comprehensive view
I could possibly collect from the several authors,
who have MTitten on this subject. But it ma}'; be
observed, that these rules, though sufficient to pre-
vent confusion in writing, are very inadequate to the
purposes of just and accurate pronouncing ; as it is
ceitiiin that a just, a forcible, and easy pronunciation,
will oblige a judicious reader to pause much more
frequently, than the most correct and accurate writ-
ers or printers give him leave : but I must again
observe, that when I contend for the propriet}', and
even necessity, of pausing, where we find no points
in \\Titing or printing, I do not mean to disturb the
, present practice of punctuation : I wish only to
/ afford such aids to pronunciation as are actually
[ made use of by the best readers and speakers, and
\ such as we must use in reading and speaking in pub-
\ lick, if we would wish to pronounce with justness,
^ energy, and ease.

ELOCUTION. 2^

An Introduction to the Theory of Rhetorical Punc-
tuation,

Dr. Lowth has, with great plainness and precis-
ion, drawn the line which bounds the use of the
comma upon paper, by telling us, that every simple
sentence, or that sentence which has but one subject
and one finite verb, cannot have any of its adjuncts,
or imperfect phrases, separated by a point. This he
illustrates by a sentence, where the subject and the
verb are accompanied by as many adjuncts as they
commonly are, but no provision is made for such
phrases as extend to twice the length, and yet con-
tinue perfectly simple. — The passion for praise pro-
duces excellent effects in -women of sense ^ — is a sen-
tence of so moderate a size, as may be pronounced
even with solemnity and energy, by most people, with-
out once taking breath ; but if we amplify these ad-
juncts that accompany the nominative case and the
verb in such a manner iis is frequently to be met with,
at least in incorrect composition, we shall find it im-
possible to pronounce the sentence with force and
ease, without some interval for respiration ; — for in-
stance, if we had the following sentence to read — A
violent passion for universal admiration produces the
most ridiculous circumstances in the getieral behaviour
of women of the most excellent understandings. — if, I
say, we had this sentence to rccid, how couid we pos-
sibly pronounce it with force and ease, without once
fetching breath'^^aridTyet; acccuxliHg-to the strictest
laws of grammar, no pause is-to^be admitted; for
tins latter sentence, though almost three times as
loitg, is as perfectly simple as the former.

The necessity of taking breath, in some of these
longer simple sentences, has obliged the most ae-
4

26 ELIIMENTS 01»

curate and metaphysical inquirers into punctuation
to admit of the most vague and indeterminate rules.
The most subtile among the French writers* on this
subject, after giving a thousand fine-spun reasons for
placing the points with justness and precision, ad-
mits of placing a comma in a simple sentence —
** Quand les propositions sont trop tongues pour etre
•* enoncees de suite avec disancey And one of our
best English criticks tells us, that the difference be-
tween the colon and the semicolon has a de{>endence
on something that influences all the points, and sways
the whole doctrine of punctuation, which is, the
length and shortness of the members and periods ;
for when the phrases are long^ he says, we point high-
er than when they are short.

This confession is a sure proof, that the rules of
these grammarians did not reach all cases ; and that,
in speaking, they often found themselves obliged to
pause where they did not dare to insert a pause in
wi'iting, for fear of breaking the grammatical connec-
tion of the words : a fear, as will be seen hereafter,
which arose from a superfici. J knowledge of the prin-
ciples of rhetorical punctuation.

But as a proof that the shortest sentences are not
alwa}'s to be pronounced so as to preserve a perfect
equality of time between every word, and consequent-
ly, that some words admit of longer intervals than
others ; we need only pronounce a short simple sen-
tence in the different Avays we did the long one.

Thus if we say, The passion for praise, produces
excellent effects, in women of sense. — Here, I sa}, if
wc make a short pause at praise, imd effects, we do
not perceive the Iciist impropriety ; but if we repeat
the same sentence, and make the same pauses at
produces, and in, \\ e shall soon discover an essential
difference. — For example : The passion for praises

* fieauz^c Gramnuire Geovralc.

ELOCUTION. 27

produces., excellent effects in, women of sense. — Here,
bv using the same pause between different words,
the sense is materially affected ; which evidently
shews how necessary it is to good reading and speak-
ing, to pause only between such words as admit of
being separated ; and that it is not so much the
number iis the position of the pauses that affects the
sense of a sentence.

And here a question naturally arises, since it is of >^
so much consequence to the sense of a sentence "^^
wiiere we admit a pause, what are the parts of speech
which allow a pause between them and what are
those which do not *? To which it may be answer-
ed, that the comma, or, what is equivalent to it in
reading, a short pause, may be so frequently admit-
ted between words in a grammatical connection, that
it will be much easier to say where it cannot inter-
vene, than where it can. The only words which
seem too intimately comiected to admit a pause,
tU'e — the article and the substantive, the substantive
and the adjective in their natural order, and the pre-
position and the noun it governs ; every other com-
bination of words, when forming simple sentences of
considerable lengtli, seems divisible if occasion re-
quire. That a substantiate in the nominative case may
l)e scpm-ated from the verb it governs, will be readily
admitted, if we consider with how many adjuncts, or
ni(xlif\ ing words, it may be connected ; and, con-
se(|uentl\ , ho\v diHicult it will be to carry the voice on
to the verb with force, and to continue this iorce till
the objective case with all its adjuncts and concomi-
tants iu'e pronounced : this will appear evidently from
the amplified sentence already produced ; which,
thougli not a very common, is a very possible ex-
ample ; and rules founded on the reason of a thing,
must either suit all cases or none.

Whatever, therefore, may be the integrity of gram-
matical connection to die eye, certain it is dL.it tiic

28 ELEMENTS OF

ear perceives neither obstiiiction nor obscurity in a
pause betM-een the nominative case and the -verb,
when the nominative is composed of such words as
are less separable. Nay, we lind the substantive
verb, by the most scrupulous grammarians, constant-
ly separated from its preceding noun by a comma,
whenever the noun is joined to any considerable
number of less separable words.

EXAMPLES.

One great use of prepositions in English, is to express those
relations, which, in some languages, are chiefly marked by
cases. Dr. Lowth^s Grammar.

A colon, or member, is a chief constructive part, or greater
division of a sentence. Ibid.

The very notion of any duration's being past, implies that it
was once present ; for the idea of being once present, is actually
included in the idea oi its being past.

Spectator^ No. 590.

This punctuation of the substantiA e verb runs
through our whole typography, and sufiicicntiy sl.cws
tlie division m hich the car iinariably makes, \\ hen
delivery requires a distinct and forcible proPiUncia-
tion ; for not the smallest reason can be giAcn, a\ h)-
this verb should be separated Irom its noun, that
will not be equcdly applicable to every other Aerb
in the language.

The general reluctance, ho^^■evcr, at admitting a
pnuse to the eye, between the nominative case ai;d
the verb, is not witliout a loundation in reason.
The pauses ol distinction between the parts of a com-
plex nominative case, seen> specilicaii} diliereiit liom
the paubC between the nominatixe case and ihe vcib ;
that the same pause, ihcreibie, to the e}e should be u-
sed between both, seems repugnant to a feeiii.g oi the
different ki^dof connection that subsists btt\\ ecu parts
which are only occusionally united, and lliose \\hich
are necessarily united ; thus in the ioiiowing sen-

ELOCUTION. 29

tcnce : Ifiches, pleasure, and health become evils to
the generality of mankind.

Tliere are few readers who would not make a long-
er pause between the nominative health and the verb
become, than between riches and pleasure, or plea-
sure and health ; and yet there ai*e few ^vTiters, or
printers, who would not insert a pause after the two
first words, and omit it after the third. This gener-
al practice can arise from nothing but the perception
of the difference there is betw^een those parts that
compose the nominative plunJ, and those parts which
compose the nominative and the verb ; and rather
than confound this difference, we choose to omit the
pause in writing, though we use it in speaking : till,
therefore, we have a point, which, like one of the
Hebrew points, at the same time that it marks a dis-
tinction between parts, marks a necessary connection
between them also, we must be contented to let this
useful and distinguishing pause in reading and speak-
ing go unmarked in writing and printing.

If we inquire into the difference between the parts
of the nominative, and the nominative itself as part
of the sentence, we shall find that the former are on-
ly parts of a part, and that tlie latter is a part of a
whole ; or, in other ^vords, the former ai'e parts of a
superior ])art, and the latter is the superior part it-
self ; which part, as it consists of sevenil parts, must,
in order to show that these parts form only one part,
be tv^rminated by a pause, longer than what is gi\'en
to the parts of which it is composed ; Ijut as such
a pause can only be marked by a semicolon, and as
a semicolon is often a mark of disjunction, it would
be highl}- improper to place it between words so in-
tiniuieiy connected as the nominative and the verb ;
for as these words, except sometimes on account of
emnhasis, adiiik ot" no separation by a pause, when
the nominative does not consist of parts, so, unless
we had a pause, wiiich wouid shew this union of

30 ELEMENTS OF

each part "with the other, without a disunion of the
whole number of parts from w hat follows, wc had
better, perhaps, let this chasm in punctuation stand
unfilled. Where the parts are evidently distinct, as
in sentences constructed on conjunctions, however
short the parts may be, there seems no impropriety in
placing a long pause : thus, in the proverbial sentence,
j4s the (lai/ lengthens the cold strengthens : \ve may
place a comma, and even a semicolon, at lengthens,
■without appearing to injure the sense ; but if we
were to place the same points betvvTen the nominatixe
and the verb in the following sentence. The lengthening
day is followed by the strengthening cold ; we shoiad
feel an impropriety at placing even a comma at dayy
though we should not perceive the least at actually
pausing as long between the paits of this, as between
those of the former sentence. The only method,
therefore, of marking this necessary pause to the eiu*,
without hurting the connection between these parts of
a sentence to the eye, w ould be to adopt the hyphen ;
this alwaj's shews a necessary connection of sense,
and at the same time a clear distinction of parts dif-
ferent from the distinction and connection exhibited by
the comma ; and this seems the point wanting to ren •
der our punctuation much more definite and complete.
A want of this distinctive, and at the same time
connecti\ e mark, has made man}- writers particukcrly
those who have expressed themselves with more
than common delicacy and precision, adopt a ddsh
between parts intimatel}' connected, to shew the sei;se
is to be continued, and the pause lengthened at
the same time. Sterne is the most remarkable for
the use of this dash : and it must be owned, thai in
him it often conveys infinite nieiining : but where
used too often, as in those swarms of modern writers
of novels, who affect to write like Sterne, or where used
improperly, and when the connnon points v on id give
more precision to the sense, as we sometimes luid even

ELOCUTION. 31

in Sterne himself ; in this case, I say, it may be
reckoned among one of the gi^eatest abuses of modem
orthography.

Sterne's dashing may be called a species of rhe-
torical punctuation ; imt the dash may and ought to
be used grammatically, Mhen there is such an order of
the words as to induce the reader to run the sense of
one member into another, from which it ought to be
separated.

EXAMPLE.

After the Prince of Orange had got possession of the
government of England — Scotland and Ireland remained still
to be settled. Macpherson' s History of England,

The punctuation of the eye^_and that of the ear,
being thus~arvmTaTn[T7Taid"(liclatl^^beiHgf4be-^rin-
cipaj^objecTof tEIsjgssaj,^ it may not be useless to
attempt to give a general idea of the principles of
that punctuation M'hich really exists in correct and
elegcmt speaking, but which has hitherto been left
entirely to the taste and judgment of the reader.

Theory of Rhetorical Punctuation.

It may be obsen^ed, that pausing is regulated by
two circumstances ; one is, conveying ideas distinctly
by separating such as are distinct, and uniting such
as aie associated ; the ether is, forming the words
that convey these ideas into such classes, or poitions,
as may be forcil^ly and easily pronounced ; for this
reason, when the words, iicm their signification, re-
quh'e to be distinctly pointed out, that is, to convey
ol jtcts distinguished from er.cli other, however fie-
<juent and numerous the pi^ustb may be, tliey arc

52 ELEMENTS OF

necessar}' ; but if words connected in sense, contin-
ue to a greater extent tlian can be easily pronounced
together, and at the same time have no such distinct
piirts as immediately suggest where we ought to
pause, the only rule that can be given is, not to sepa-
rate such words as are more united than those that
we do not separate.

But it may be demanded, how shall we know the
several degrees of union between words, so as to en-
able us to divide them properly ? — To this it may
be ansAvered, that all words may be distinguished
into those that modify, and those that are modified* :
the words that are modified aie the nominative, and
the verb it governs ; ever)' other word may be siiid
to be a modifier of these words : the noun and verb
being thus distinguished from every other, may be
one reason, that, ^vhen modified, they so reiidil}' ad-
mit a pause between them ; because words that are
separately modified may be presumed to be more
separable from each other thun the words that mo-
dify cUid the words modified. The modifying words
are themseh es modified by other words, iind thus
become divisible into superior and subordinate
classes, each class being composed of words more
united amonsc themselves than the several classes are
with each other. Thus in the sentence. The passion
for praise produces excellent effects in women of
sense — tlie noun passion^ and the verb produces^ with
then several adjuncts, Ibrmthe t\\o priricipal portions,
or classes, of words in this sentence ; and betw een
these classes a pause is more reiidily admitted than
betw een any other words : if the latter class may be
tliought too long to be pronounced without a pause,
we may more easily place one at effects than betAveen
an) other words ; because, though produces is mod-
ified by every one of the succeeding words, takcni

* Buffier Crammaire, p. 60t

ELOCUTION. 33

ull to.^ethcr, yet It is more immediately modified by
excellent effects^ as this portion is also modified by
in women of sense ; all the words of which phrase
are more immediately modified by the succeeding
words than the preceding phrase, produces excellent
effects, is by them.

But what, it may be said, is the principle of unity
among these classes ; and by what marks are we to
judge that words belong rather to one class than to
another ? To this it may be answered, that the
modifying and the modified words form the first
or larger* classes ; and the words that modify
these modifying words, and the modifying words
themselves, which are necessarily more united with
each other than with those they modify, form the
smaller classes of w^ords. Upon these principles we
may divide the sentence last quoted ; and upon the
same principles we may account for the division of
the following. — ^ violent and ungovernable passion
for praise the most universal and unlimited, produces
often the most ridiculous consequences in women of
the most exalted understandings. — When I say, a
violent and ungovernable passion, I may pause at
violent to distinguish it from ungovernable, but not
at ungovernable, because it immediately modifies
passion ; but when I s?iy, for praise, the ?}iost univer-
sal and unlimited, I must pause at passion, to shew
the greater connection between the words praise and
universal and unlimited than between these and pas-
sion ; the latter class thus secured, by a pause, from
mixing with the former, it is subject to such division
as its structure requires ; the substantive praise^
coming before the modifying words, is separated
from them by a pause, not because such a pause is
necessary the better to understand the connection be-
tween them ; for had the modifying word been
single, it would not have admitted a pause ; but be-
cause the two modifving words, universal and unlim^
5

34 ELEMENTS OF

ited, form a class by themselves, sufficiently united
to the word praise to detach it from passion^ and:
sufficiently distinct from it to be separated b}' a com-
ma. But it may be asked, why does not the same
classification take place in tlie former part of this
sentence, with respect to the two adjectives, violent
and ungovernable, and the substantive, passion ? It
may be ans\^'ercd, that a pause of distinction is ad-
mitted at violent; but if we were to pause at ungovern-
able, the two modifying words would seem to form
a class, before the word modified by them is express-
ed or understood ;. whereas, in the succeeding part
of the sentence, the word praise is understood, and
the modif}ing words, imiver.sal and unlimited, are
necessarily referred to it.

If it be demanded, why, in the former sentence,
A violent and ungovernable passion for praise pro-
duces, &c. we cannot pause both at passion and
praise ? it may be answered, that as the words foyi'
praise modify passion, they have the nature of an
adjective, and therefore should coalesce with the
word passion, which they modify ; unless another
word, more united to them than they are to passion^
could be added, to make them form a distinct class ;
for, in this case, tliey would be as easily separable as
tv.o adjectives after a substantive. Thus in the
phrase, A violent and ungovernable passion, for praise
and adukitioji, ^c. \\&lC wo^ ?m6. praise and adulation
form a class of m ords sufficiently united to be pro-
nounced separately from passion, if either the neces-
sity of taking breath, or a distinctness of pronuncia-
tion, require it ; for as pausing ought to answer one
of these purj^oses, where neither of them are answer-
ed, the pause must be improper. Thus in the fol-
lowing sentence : A violent and ungovernable passion
for praise produces, %^Q. \^ w'Q. pause at /;a55?ori, and
then at praise, we shall pause without any necessity ;
for as we must pause ^at praise, and the wordsj^r

'ELOCUTION. 35

praise being neither associated with, nor distinguish-
ed from, any succeeding words, they ought to be
united with those that precede, as both of them form
a member sufficiently short to be pronounced with
ease; but if distinctness had made it necessary to
pause at praise^ then notwithstanding the shortness
of the phrase, it would have formed a distinct mem-
ber, and have readily admitted a pause. Thus in the
sentence, A violent and ungovernable passion Jbr
praise^ rather than improvement in virtue^ produces
often the most 7-idiculous circumstances^ &c. : here
the word praise^ being emphatically distinguished
from improvement in virtue^ demands a pause after
it ; and as this word, and its opposite, form a class
more united together than both are with the woi'd
passion, a pause is necessary, to shew they belong to
distinct classes ; the pause between the opposing
words shewing their distinction, and the pause be-
fore and after them shewing their union.

But it may be asked, how can we suppose words
opposed to each other, and requiring a pause to
shew that opposition, can be more united with each
other than they are with the preceding words they
modify ? It may be answered, that the modifying
word, when unaccompcmied by adjuncts, and the
w ord modified, form but one class, and do not admit
of a pause, either when the modifying word pre-
cedes or succeeds the word modified. — Thus in the
phrases, It was from a prepense malice that he com-
mitted the action ; and, It was from a malice pre-
pense that he committed the action : In these phrases,
I say, the substantive malice, and the adjective pre-
pense, are equally inseparable by a pause ; but in
the following phrases :

It was from a preconceived and prepense malice
that he committed the action : and. It was from ft
malice, preconceived and prepense, that he committed
the action. In the former of these plirases, the mod-

36 ELEMENTS OF

ifying words do not form a distinct class from the
word modified ; and in the latter they do, and, there-
fore, admit of a pause after the word malice^ which
can arise from nothing else but this : in one case,
the modifying words, preceding the word modified,
can signify nothing without being joined to it ; and
in the other, the modified word, preceding those
that modify, does signify something independent
on them ; and this independent signification admits
those words that equally depend on it, to form a
distinct, though not an independent, --class, by per-
mitting a pause. Hence arises thi«: general rule —
7%e word modified^ cuid the words modifying^ form
but one class with relation to the rest of the words of
the sentence ; hut if the modifying words precede the
word modified^ the modifying words are distinguished
from each other by a pause ^ but not from the word
modifed ; and if the modifying words succeed the
word modified^ they are not only distinguished from
each other ^ but from the xvoi'd which they modify ;
tliat is, they form distinct classes respecting each
other, and one whole class respecting the rest of the
words in the sentence.

Thus have we endeavoured to trace out the r&L-
son for pausing differently in phrases differently con-
structed, though perfectly similar in meaning. In
this enquir}% the ingenious researches of Lord Kaims
upon this subject have been of great use. His idea
of the connection between the adjective and the
substantive in their natural order, and the separation
they admit of when inverted, is the principal clue to
the difficulties that have been proposed : his asser-
tion, however, that the adjective and substantive
in an inverted order admit of a pause, is true only
when the adjective is single ; for thousands of in-
stances might be produced, where a pause is no
more admissil:)le between a substantive and an ad-
jective in their inverted than in their natural order.

ELOCUTION. 37

For example, in the following lines from the Rape of
the Lock :

Of these the chief the care of nations own,
And guard with arms divine the British throne.

Though the melody of the verse inclines us
Tstrongiy to pause at arms^ yet the adjective divine^
immediately succeeding, forbids it. Nay, if the line
Lord Kaims produces to prove we may pause be-
tween the adjective and the substantive in an invert-
ed order —

For thee the fates, severely kind, ordain—

If this line, I say, had been constructed in this man-
ner,

For thee the fates severe, have this ordain'd,

it is evident no pause could be admitted between
the substantive yaifd-j and the adjective severe, though
they are here in their inverted order ; it is not then
merely the adjective being placed after the substan-
tive which makes it separable from it, but the ad-
jective being joined by other words, which, when
the substantive is understood, are more immediate-
ly connected with each other than with the substan-
tive itself.

If these observations have any solidity, we may
perceive how few are the grammatical connections
uhich absolutely refuse a suspension of pronuncia-
tion, for the sake of breathing, where precision or
energy require it : it is certainly to be presumed
that the breath of ever}- person is nearly proportiot
to the forcible pronunciation of so many wormy
gether as are necessary to preserve the sen:
broken ; the contrary, ho\^-ever, would often ^)Ie ;
case, if ihe integrity of tlie sense depended »ten-
coramon rules tor placmg the comma. Let

2()v'vJ_8

38 ELEMENTS 01

however, who can pronounce a long sentence easily
and forcibly, provided they preserve the pauses neces-
sary to the sense, take breath as seldom as they
please. I have rather consulted the infirmities than
the perfections of my fellow creatures ; by endeav-
ouring to point out those resources which are ne-
cessary' to die weak, without imposing them as rules
upon the strong ; — Clausulas eimn, says Cicero, at-
que interpuncta verhorum animcc interclusio atque
angustite spiritus adtulcrunt. De Orat. Lib. iii.

But from studying the human voice, and not re.
lying implicitly on the assertions of the ancients, we
perceive the weakness of that common observ ation,
that long sentences require a greater quantity of
breath, and a much more forcible exertion hi the
lungs, than such sentences as are short. The folly
of this opinion must evidently appear to those who
have taken notice how often we may pause in a long
sentence ; and it will be shown hereafter, that the
sense of a sentence depends much less on the pause
than on the inflexion of voice we adopt ; iuid that,
provided we pause in the proper place, and preserve
the proper tone and inflexion of the voice, the sense
runs no risk on account of tlie multiplicity or dura-
tion of die pauses.

To reduce what has been said into something like
a system, we shall endeavour to bring together sen-
tences in every variety of construction, and mark,
as carefully as possible, such pauses, as are neces-
sary to pronounce tliem with clearness, force, and
variety.

tion,
in aUi
when t
stances
more l
jective .

ELOCUTION. 59:

A Practical System of Rhetorical Punctuation,

Before we give such directions for pausing, or
dividing a sentence, as will, in some measure, enable
us to aviod the errors of common punctuation^, and
to point for ourselves, it will be necessary to inquire
into the nature of a sentence, and to distinguish it
into its different kinds : for this purpose, I shall
make use of the words of a veiy ingenious author,*
who has lately written on the Philosophy of Rhetor-
iek : ' Complex sentences,' says this author, *are of two

* kinds ; first, they are either periods, or sentences of
'a looser composition, for which the language doth
'^ not furnish us with a paiticular name.

* A period is a complex sentence, wherein the

* meaning remains suspended, till the whole is finish-

* ed : tlie connection, consequently, is so close be-
' tA\^een the beginning and the end, as to give rise to

* the name period, which signifies circuit ; the fol-
' lowing is such a sentence i

" Corruption could not spread with so much suc-
*' cess, though reduced into system, and though some
" ministers, with equal impudence and folly, avowed
" it, by themselves and their advocates, to be the prin-
" cipal expedient by which they governed, if a long
" and almost unobserved progression of causes and-
'^effects did not prepare the conjuncture."

Bol'tnghrohe' s Spirit of Patriotism.

' The criterion of a period is this : If you stop any
*^where before the end, the preceding Avords w ill not

* form a sentence, and therefore cannot convey any
•• determined sense.

' This is plainly the case with the abo\e example :

* the first verb being could, and not can ; the poten-

* Campbell's Philcs. of Rhotortck, vol. ii.p. f?.T>.

40 ELEMENTS OF

* tial, and not the indicative mood, shews that the

* sentence is hypothetical, and requires to its comple-

* tion some clause beginning with j/J unless^ or some

* other conditional paiticle ; and after you are come

* to the conjunction, yo\i find no part where you

* can stop before the end. An example of a complex
'■ sentence that is not a period, I shall produce from

* the same performance :'

" One party had given their whole attention, dur-^
"ing several yeiirs, to the project of enriching them-
*' selves^ and impoverishing the rest of the ?iation ;■
" and, by these and other means, of establishing their
''^ dominion under the (Government, and with the fa-
" vour of a family who were Jbreigners ; and there-
" fore might believe that they were established on the
" throne, by the good will and strength of this party
"alone."

* The criterion of such loose sentences is as follows:

* there will always be found in them one place at least

* before the end, at which if you make a stop, the
'construction of the preceding part will render it a

* complete sentence ; thus, in the example now giv-

* en, whether you stop at the word themselves^ at

* nation^ at dominion, at government, or 'eit foreigner Sy

* all A\ hich words are marked in the q\iotation in Ital-

* icks, you will find you have read a perfect sentence.'

This distinction of a sentence into a period or com-
pact sentence, and a loose sentence, does not seem to
satisfy this ingenious critick ; and he produces an ex,
ample of a sentence of an intermediate sort, that is
neither an entirely loose sentence, nor a perfect pe-
riod : this example, too, is taken from Lord Boling-
broke, where, speak ing of the Eucharist, he says : " the
*' other institution has been so disguised by ornament,
" and so much directed in your church, at least, to a
" different purpose from commemoration, that if the
" disciples were to assemble at Easter in the chapel
" of his holiness, Peter would know his successor

ELOCUTION. 41

*' as little as Christ would acknowledge his vicar ;
" and the rest would be unable to guess what the
" ceremony represented or intended." Though this
sentence forms perfect sense at vicar^ the critick af-
firms, that ' the succeeding members are so closely
' connected with the preceding, that they all togeth-
' er may be considered as a period, or compact sen-
* tcnce.' , ^^,;:.,, ,..;.;.,,

Here we findj^pie former distinction destroyed,
and we are again^tq seek for such a definition of a
sentence as will assure us what is a period or com-
pact sentence, and what is a loose sentence ; or, in
other AV'ords, what members are necessaiily, and \\ hat
are not necessarily connected. In the first place we
may observe, that it is not the perfect sense, formed
by the preceding members, that determines a sen-
tence to be loose : because succeeding members may
be so necessarily connected with those that precede,
notwithstanding the preceding members form perfect
sense, that both together may form one period. Mr.
Addison affords us an instance of this, in the Specta-
tor, No. 86 : " Every one that speaks and reasons,
" is a grammarian and a logiciiUi, though lie may be
" utterly unacquainted with the rules oi grammar or
" logick as they are delivered in books cU.cl systems."

If we finish this sentence at logicia?i, we shiiil find
the sense perfect ; and yet nothing Ccji be more evi-
dent than that both the member \\ hich contains this
word, and that which follows, are inseparably con
nected. It is not, therefore, the periect sense which
a member may form, that necessarily detaches it from
the rest ; if, upon perusing the latter p.a t of the sen-
tence, we find it evidently contained in the idea of
the former, they must both be inseparubh' connect-
ed : the whole sentence, therefore, nuu-.t be under-
stood before we can pronounce upon the connection
consisting betwct'ii its parts.
6

42 ELEMENTS OF

But it may be demanded, what is the criterion of
this connection ; and how shall we know, with cer-
tainty, whether the idea of the latter member is ne-
cessarily contained in the former ? To this it may be
answered, if the latter member modifies the former,
«0r places it in a point of view different from what it
appears in alone, we may pronounce the members
necessarily connected, and the sentence to be com-
pact and periodick. In the last instance, the first
member. Every one that speaks and reasons, is a
grammarian and a logician ; does not intend to af-
firm a fact M'hich might be understood as descriptive
of the state of man, cither with or without the attain-
ments of grammar and logick j but it refers precisely
to that state ^vhich has no such attainments, and thus
is modified by the last member, though he may be
utterly unacquainted with the rules of grammar, or
logick, as they are delivered in books and systems^
The modification, therefore, of the former member
by the latter, is the criterion of such connection as
forms a period or compact sentence.

It is on this principle that all sentences founded on
an h}'pothcsis, a conditiorj, a concession^ or excep-
tion,, may be esteemed compact sentences or periods ;
for in these sentences we shall find one part of the
sentence modified by the other ; and it may be af-
firmed of all o'vher sentences, that whenever the con-
junctions that connect their members together mod-
ify these members, the sentences they compose are
periodick ; and that whenever the conjunctions only
expkda CM* add to the meaning of the members ta
which they are subjoined, the sentences which these
members compose are loose sentences. It will be
neccssar}' to explain this observation by examples.

EXAMPLES.

A man should endeavour to make the sphere of his innocent
pleasures as wide as possible, t/:at he may retire into them with-

ELOCUTION. 43

safetf, and find in them such a satisfaction as a wise man
would not blush to take. Of this nature are those of the im-
agination, ivhlch do not require such a bent ©f thought as is
necessary to our more serious employments, nor at the same
time suffer the mind to sink into that negligence and remissness,
■vihich are apt to accompany our more sensual delights.— ^r-
iator^ No. 411.

In the first of tliese sentences we find the conjunc-
tion that modifies or restrains the meaning of the
preceding member ; for it is not asserted in general,
and without limitation, that a man should make the
sphere of his innocent pleasures as wide as possible,
but that he should do so for the purpose of retiring
into himself : these two members, therefore, are
necessarily connected, and might have formed a pe-
riod or compact sentence, had they not been follow-
ed by the lat>t member ; but as that only adds to the
sense of the preceding members, and does not qual-
ify them, the \\ hole assemblage of members, taken
together, form but one loose sentence.

The last member of the last sentence is necessarily
connected with what precedes, because it modifies or
restrains the meaning of it ; for it is not meant, that
the pleasures of the imagination do not suffer the
mind to sink into negligence and remissness in gen-
eral, but into that particular negligence and remiss-
ness which is apt to accompany our more sensual de-
lights. The first member of this sentence affords an
oppoitiuiity of explaining this by its opposite : for
here it is not meant, that those pleasures of the imag-
ination only are of this innocent nature which do not
require such a bent of thought as is necessaiy to our
more serious emplo}'ments, but that of this nature
are the pleasures of the imagination in general ; and
it is by asking the question ^\hether a preceding
member affirms any thing in general, or only affirms
something as liinited or qualified by whiit follows,
that we shall disco\er whether these members are

44 ELEMENTS Of

either immediately or remotely connected, and, con-
sequently, whether they form a loose or a compact
sentence : as the former member, tlierefore, of the
last sentence, is not necessarily connected with those
th.it succeed, the sentence may be pronounced to be
a loose sentence.
I If these observations have any solidit}% we have at
' last arrived at the true distinction between a period
and a loose sentence ; which is, that a period is an
assemblage of such words, or members, as do not
Jbrm sense independent on each other ; or if they do,
the former modify the latter, or inversely ; and that
a loose sentence is an assemblage of such words or
members as do form sense, independent on those that
follow, and at the same time are ?iot modified by them :
A period or compact sentence, thereiorc, is divisible
into two kinds ; the first, where the Jhrmer words
and members depend for sense on the latter, as in the
sentence. As we cannot discern the shadow moving
along the dial-plate, so the advances we make in
learning are only perceived by the distance gone over.
Which fo'' distinction's sake v.e may cull a direct
period. The second kind of period, or compact sen-
tence, is that xvhere, though the first part forms sense
without the latter, it is nevertheless jnodified by it ; as
in the sentence, There are several arts which all men
are in so?ne measure masters of without being at the
pains of learning them. Which mc may caii an in-
verted period. The loose sentence has its first mem-
bers forming sense, without bemg modified by the lat-
ter ; as in the sentence. Persons of good taste expect
to be pleased at the same time they are informed ; and
thmk that th? best sense always deserves the best lan-
guage. \n which example, we lind tlic latter mem-
ber adding something to the former, but not modiiy-
/'jng or altering it.

It will re idiiy occur to the critical reader, that, in
this deiinition of a period, I have departed widely

ELOCUTION. 45

from the doctrine of the ancients, who consider it as
ail assemblage oi members, and not of woids only ;
but as such a reader a\ iii kno^v the difficulty of giving
a precise idea of a period, according to the opinion of
the ancients, aid what diversit}' and uncertainty there
is about it among tlie moderns ; he will the more
easily excuse m} hi.zardii g a definition of my own.
My principal object has been, to give such a defini^
tion as would be clear, precise and ustiul : such a
one as would best answer the purposes of pronuncia-
tion, by exactly drawing the line betv.een the con-
nection ar.d disjunctions of words, without making
use of such indcliniie teim.s as the wore or less inti-
mate connection of the parts^ or the concurrence oj the
parts to the plenitude of a total sense.

Sentences thus CiLliiicd and eli-^tircuis-.hed into their
several kinds, \\q shi.ll l:e better enabled to give such
rules for dividing them by pautscs, as will reduce
pur.ctuation to some n^ticiial aiid steady principles.
Pic\'ioush , ho^\ever, to these rules, it will be neces-
sary to ol.her^•e, that as the times of the pa; ses are
exceedingly inelefmite, the leaver distinctions we make
between them, the less we shall embarrass the reader :
the ccnmion estimate of tl:c times of the comma,
the sen.icclon, the colon, and ihe period, in the
geometrical proportions oi 1, 2, 4, 8, plei;ses us, fiom
its analogy with the limes of the semibiiel, minim,
ootchet, and quaver in musick ; but every one will
ccaaess at fii st sight, thi.t as these (iTsTiTTCtionS'iiTTCScI-
ii2^^;;ju;i:_aiJ^tnu:ij .iliey;jijrc_jase]ess ; ever}' one feels
a/lifTerence Letveen a greater and a tmaller pause,
but few can coi:eeive degiees oi these ; I shall beg
leave, therefoie, to reeluce tl.e number of pauses to
thrLc-rTrnmei} , ilK^_simiikii4iausc, answei iiigL to the
Ci)inma ; tlie greater pause aiisv.erirrg^fcrtTie^semico-
lon m^4-^^.iiaii-}'-r.T!d tl le jjii:aie:iit, pau.-)e answering to
tbe^pgriGd. The 1.1 cients knew nothtn^'cnhe se-
micolon : iu:d ii v>c consider practice and real utility,

46 ELEMENTS OF

I believe it will be found, that the tliree distinctions
of the ancients answer every useful purpose in writing
and reading.

The smaller pause, the greater pause, and the
greatest pause, ai*e die distinctions, therefore, I shall
beg leave to adopt in the rules to be given for divid-
ing a sentence : and as the division of a sentence de-
pends necessarily on its structure, and the greater or
less connection of its parts, it will be proper to be-
gin with the direct period ; that is, where no sense is
formed till the sentence is concluded.

Rule I. Every direct period consists of two prin-
cipal constructive paits, between which parts the
greater pause must be inserted ; when these parts
commence with conjunctions diat corresjxind ^ith
each other, they are sufficiently distinguishable ; as in
the follo\ving sentence :

As we cannot discern the shadow moving along the dial-
plate, so the advances we make in knowledge are only perceiv-
ed by the distance gone over.

Here we may obsei-ve, that the first constructive
part begins with as^ and the second with so ; the ex-
pectation is excited b} the first, and answered by the
latter : at that point, theretbre, where the expecta-
tion begins to be answered, and the sense begins to
form, the principal pause is to be used ; and, by these
means, the two contrasted and correspondent parts
are distinctly viewed by the mind.

A period may be direct, and its parts as necessari-
ly connected, where only the first conjunction is ex-
pressed.

EXAMPLE.

As in my speculations I have endeavoured to extinguish
passion and prejudice, 1 am still desirous of doing some good
in this particular. Spectator.

ELOCUTION. 47

Here the word so is understood before / am^ and
the long pause as much required as if so had been ex^
pressed ; since it is here the sentence naturally di-
vides into two correspondent and dependent parts.

That point, therefore, where the expectation be-
gins to be answered, or where one part of the sen-
tence begins to modify the other, is the point which
we must be the most careful to mark ; as it is here
the sentence naturally divides into its principal con
structive parts.

Rule 11. Every inverted period consists of two
principal constructive parts, between which parts the
greater pause must be inserted ; these parts divide at
that point, where the latter part of the sentence begins
to modify the former ; in periods of this kind, the
latter conjunction only is expressed, as in the exam-
ple : Every one that speaks and reasons is a gram-
marian, and a logician, though he may be utterly un-
acquaintedtvith the rules of grammar, orlogick, as they
are delivered in books and systems. If we invert this
period, we shall find it susceptible of the two corre-
spondent conjunctions though and yet ; as, Though
utterly unacquainted with the rules of grammar or
logick, as delivered in books and systems, yet every
man who speaks and reasons is a grammarian and
logician. — This inversion of the order of a sentence,
is, perhaps, the best criterion of the connection of its
parts ; and proves that the former, though forming
complete sense by itself, is modified by the latter. —
Thus in the phrases, Christ died for him, because he
died for all — Many things are believed, though they
exceed the capacity of our wits. Hooker.

In these phrases, if \\'e do but transpose the noun
and pronoun, and invert the order, the sentences \\ ill
be perfectly the same in sense, and 'he connection \\\\\
be more apparent ; as. Because Christ died for alL he
died for him — Though many things exceed the capaci-
ty of our wits, they are believed.

48 ELEMENTS OF

Rule III. Ever)' loose sentence must consist of a
period, either direct or inverted, and an additional
member which does not modify it ; and, consequent-
ly, this species of sentence requires a pause between
the principal constructive parts of the period, and
between the period and the additional member.

EXAMPLE. J

Persons of good taste expect to be pleased, at the same time
they are informed ; and think that the best sense always de-
serves the best language.

In this sentence an inverted period is constructed
at the word informed ; which requires a pause at
pleased, because here the former pait of the sentence
is modified by the latter ; and a pause is required at
informed, because here another member commences.
Let us take another example :

The soul, considered abstractedly from its passions, is of a
remiss and sedent.iry nature; slow in its resolves, and languish-
ing in its executions. Spectator, No. iJ55.

Here a direct period is formed at nature ; the prin-
cipal constructive parts of this period separate at
passions ; and here must be the larc^er pause : the
succeeding members are only additional, and require
a hu'ger pause between tliem and the period they be-
long to, and a smaller pause between each other at re-
solves.

Hiving thus given an idea of the principal pause
in a sentence, it will be necessary to say something
of the subordinate p:iuses, which may all be compre-
hended under what is called the sj-iort pause.

And, first it inii}- be observed, thd by the lor,g
pause, is not meant a pause of any determinate Icng-h,
but the longest pause in tlie sentence. 'Vhw-, ;he
pause between the nonuncuive and the verb in the
following benience :

ELOCUTION. 49

The great and invincible Alexander, wept for die fate of
Darius.

The pause here, I say, may be called the long pause,
though not half so long as the pause between the
two principal constructive parts in the following sen-
tence :

If impudence prevailed as much in the forum and the courts
of justice, as insolence does in the country and places of less re-
sort ; Aulus Caecina would submit as much to the impudence of
Sextus ^butius in this cause, as he did before to his insolence
when assaulted by him.

Here the pause between the words resort^ and Aulus
Ccecina, may be called the long pause, not so much
from its duration, as from its being the principal
pause in the sentence : the long pause, therefore,
must always be understood relatively to the smaller
pauses : and it may pass for a good general rule, that
the principal pause is longer, or shorter, according to
the simplicity or complexity of the sentence : thus,
in the three following sentences, we find the two
principal constructive parts separated by a pause in
exact proportion to the simplicity or complexity of
the members :

EXAMPLES.

As we cannot discern the shadow movlu'^ along the dial.-
pla-f, so the advances we make in knowledge are only per-
ceivable by the distance gone over.

As we perceive the shadow to have moved, but did not per-
ceive it moving ; so our advances in learning:, consisting of
insensible steps, are only perceivable by the distance.

As we perceive the shadow to have moved along the dial,
but did not perceive it moving ; and it appears tlie grass has
grown, though nobo^ly ever sjw it grow : so the advances we
make in knowledge, as they make such minute steps, are only
perceivable by the distance.

so ELEMENTS OF

In the first sentence the two principal constructive
parts are separated by a comma at dial-plate ; in the
second, by a semicolon at moving ; and in the third,
by a colon at grow : if, for the purposes of force,
vai'iety, or ease, (each of which causes ^vill be some-
times sufficient reason for a pause, where there is
none in the sense) — if, for an}- of these purposes, I
say, it were necessaiy to pause in the first member of
the first sentence, no words seem so readily to admit a
pause between them as shadow and moving^ as here
^the object is distinguished irom the circumstance at-
tending it ; aiid if a pause a\ ere necessary in the last
member, the two principal parts here seem to be the
nominative phrase ending at knowledge^ and the verb
with its adjuncts beginning at are. The second sen-
tence seems to have all the pavtses it will admit of ;
but the third might, for some of the above -mentioried
reasons, have a pause at shadow^ and, for reasons that
will be given hereafter, ought always to have a pause
at grown : and as the last member is intersected by
an incidental member between the nominative and the
verb, it ought to have two subordinate pauses, one at
knowledge and the other at steps, before the final pause
at distance.

Thus when the sentence is divided into its princi-
pal parts by the long pause, these parts, if complex,
are again divisible into subordinate parts by a short
pause ; and these, if necessary, are again divisible into
more subordinate piirts by a still shorter pause, till at
last we arrive at those words which admit of no pause \
as the iuticle and the substantive, the substantive and
adjective in their natural order, or, if unattended by
adjuncts, in any order ; and the prepositions and the
words they govern. These \\-ords may be consider-
ed as principles, in their nature not divisible : if, with-
out necessity, we pause between other words, the pro-
nunciation will be only languid and cmbaiTassed :

Telocution. 5^

but between tliese, a pause is not only embarrassing,
but unsuitable and repugnant to the sense.

The subordinate parts of sentences are easily dis-
tinguished in sucli sentences as consist of parts cor-
responding to parts, as in the following example :

If impudence prevailed as much in the forum and courts of
justice, as insolence does in the country and places of less re-
sort ; Auhis Cxcina would submit as much to the impudence
of Sextus iEbutius in this cause, as he did before to his inso-
lence when assaulted by him.

Here the whole sentence readily divides into two
principal constructive paits at resort ; the first part
as readily divides into two subordinate parts at jus-
tice ; and the last into two other subordinate parts at
cause ; and these are all the pauses necessary : but
if, either from the necessity of drawing breath, or of
more strongly enforcing every part of this sentence,
we w ere to admit of more pauses than those, it can-
not be denied, that for this purpose, some places
more readily admit of a pause than others : if, for in-
stance, die first subordinate part were to admit of
two pauses, they could no where be so suitably' plac-
ed as at impudence 3j\d Jorum ; if the next might be
over-pointed in the same manner, the points would
be less unsuitable at does and country than at any oth-
er words ; in the same manner a pause might be
more tolerable at decina and jEdutius^ and at before
and insolence, than in any other of the subordinate
parts of the latter di^'ision of this sentence.

The parts of loose sentences \vhich admit of the
short pause, must be determined by the same prin-
ciples. If this sentence has been properly defined,
it is a sentence consisting of a clause coiitaining per-
fect sense, followed b}' an additional clause which
does not modify it. Thus in the following exam-
ple :

52 £LEMENtS Of

Foolish men are more apt to consider what they hav6 lost^
than what they possess ; and to turn their eyes on those who
are richer than themselves, rather than on those who are under
greater difficulties.

Here a perfect sentence is formed at possess, and
here must be the longest pause, as it intervenes be-^
tween two parts nearly independent : the principal
ipause in the first member of this sentence, which may
be called a subordinate pause respecting the whole
sentence, is at lost, and that of the kibt member at
themselves J if, for the sake of precision, other and
shorter pauses were admitted, it should seem most
suitable to admit them at meh and consider in the
first member, at e7/es and those in the firbt part of the
second member, and at those in the last. In these
observations, however, it must be cai'efully under-
stood, that this multiplicity of shorter pauses ai'e not
recommended as necessary or proper, but only as
possible, and to be admitted occasionally : and, to
draw the line as much as possible between what is
necessarv and unnecessarv, we shall endeavour to
bring together such particular cases as demand the
short pause, and those \^ here it cannot be omitted
without hurting either the sense or the delivery.

Rule IV* When a nominative consists of more
than one word, it is necessary to pause after it.

When a nominative and a verb come in a sentence
tmattended by adjuncts, no pause is necessary, either
for the ear or understanding ; thus in the following
sentence — Alexander wept : No pause intervenes be*
tween these words, because they convey only two
ideas, which are apprehended the moment they are
pronounced ; but if these words iire amplified by ad-
juncts of specification, as in the following sentence —
The great and invincible Alexa7ider, wept for the fate
qf Darius : Here a pause is necessar} between tliese
Words, not only that the organs may pronounce ihe
whole with more ease, but tliat the complex nomina-

BLOCtTTION. 53

tive and verb may, by being separately and dis-
tinctly exhibited, be more readily and distinctly
conceived.

This rule is so far from being umiecessary when
we are obliged to pause alter the verb, tliat it then
becomes more essentiiil.

EXAMPLE,

This account of party patches will, I am afraid, appear im-
probable to those who live at a distance from the fashionable
world. Addison^ t Spect. No. 81 »

If in this sentence we only pause at will, as mark-
ed by the printer, we shall find the verb swallowed
up, as it were, by the nominative case, and confound-
ed with it ; but if we make a short pause both be-
fore and after it, we shall find every part of the sen-
tence obvious and distinct.

That the nominative is more separable from the
Verb than the verb from the objective case, is plain
from the propriety of pausing at self-love, and not at
forsook, in the following example :

Self love forsook the path it first pursu'd,
And found the private in the publick good.

Pope's Essay on Man.

The same may be observed of the first line of the
following couplet :

Earth smiles around with boundless bounty blest,
And heav'n beholds its image in his breast. Ibid,

Here, though the melody invites to a pause at beholds,
propriety requires it at heaven.

Rule V. Whatever member intervenes between
the nominative case and the verb, is of tlie nature of
a parenthesis, and must be septu-ated from both of
them by a short pause.

54 ELEMENTS OF

EXAMPLES.

1 am told that many virtuous matrons, who formerly have-
been taught to believe that this artificial spotting of a face was
unlawful, are now reconciled, by a zeal for their cause, to what
they could not be prompted by a concern for their beauty.

jiddison'i Spect. No. 81.

The member intervening between the nominative
matrons and the verb are, may be considered as inci-
dental, and must therefore be separated from both.

When the Romans and Sabines were at war, and just upon
the point of giving battle, the women, who were allied to both
of them, mterposed with so many tears and intreaties, that
they prevented the mutual slaughter which threatened both
parties, and united them together in a firm and lasting peace.

Addison, ibid.

Here the member intervening between the nomina-
tive case women, and the vei b interposed, must be
separated trom both by a short pause.

Rule VI. Whatever member intervenes between
the verb and the accusative case, is of the nature of
a parenthesis, and must be separated from both by a
short pause.

EXAMPLES.

1 knew a person who possessed the faculty of distinguishing
flavours in so great a perfection, that, after having tasted ten
different kinds of tea, he would distinguish, without seeing the
colour of it, the particular sort which was cflFvred him.

Addison's Spect. No. 409.

The member intervening between the verb distin-
guish and the accusative the particular sort, must be
separated from them by a short pause.

A man of a fine taste in writing will discern, after the same
manner, not only the general beauties and imperfections of an
author, but discover the several ways of thinkmg and express-
ing himself, which diversify him from all other autliors.

Addison, Hid.

ELOCUTION. 55

The member intervening between the verb discern
and the accusative not only thegenei'al beanties^ must
be separated from both by a short pause.

Rule VII. When two verbs come together, and
the latter is in the infinitive mood, if any words come
between, they must be separated from the latter verb
by a pause.

EXAMPLES.

Now, because our inward passions and inclinations can nev-
er make themselves visible, it is impossible for a jealous man,
to be thoroughly cured of his suspicions. Spectator ^ No. 170.

In this example, the verbal phrases, it is impossible
and to be thoroughly cured, have the w ordsyor a jeal-
ous man coming between them, which must there-
fore be separated from the latter by a comma, or
short pause.

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind, to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune ;
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them ? Shakespeare.

If it were necessar}- for breathing to pause any
where in this passage, ^\'e should find a pause much
more admissible at nund thim in any other part, as
here a clause interveiies between the verbs is and
suffer ; and two verbs seem more separable than a
verb and its objective case.

But when the substantive verb to be is followed b}'^
a verb in the infinitive mood, which may serve as a
nominative case to it, and the phrases before and after
the verb may be tnuisposed, then the pause falls be-
tween the verbs.

EXAMPLES.

The practice among the Turks is, to destroy, or imprison for
life, any presumptive heir to the throne.

Here the pause fills between is and to destroy.

56 ELEMENTS OF

Their first step was, to possess themselves of Caesar's papers
and money, and next to convene the Senate.

Goldsmith's Roman History.

Here we must pause between was and to possess.

Never had this august assembly been convened upon so de-
licate an occasion, as It was, to determine whether Caesar had
been a legal magistrate or a tyrannical usurper. Ibid.

Here the pause comes between was and to deter -
mine.

Rule Vni. If there are several subjects belonging
in the same manner to one verb, or several verbs, be-
longing in the same manner to one subject, the sub-
jects and verbs are still to be accounted equal in
number ; for every verb must have its subject, and
every subject its verb ; and CAcry one of the subjects,
or verbs, should have its point of distinction and a
short pause.

EXAMPLE.

Riches, pleasure, and health, become evils to those who de
not know feow to use them.

Here the subjects riches^ pleasure, and health, be-
long each of them to the verb become ; as, Riches be-
come an evil, pleasure becomes an e^'?/, and health be-
comes an evil, &c. Each of these, therefore, must be
sepiirated by a short pause ; and all of them, forming
only one compound nominative case, must, according
to Rule IV. be sepai-ated by a short pause from the
verb. This last pause must be the more particularly
attended to, as we scarcely ever see it miu-ked in
printing. One of the best French* grammarians,
however, has decided, that this pause is not only as
necessaiy here as between the other parts, but more so;
Ijecause, says he, if the pause be omitted between the

Beauz^e Grammaire Generate, torn. iL p> ^83.

BLOCUTION. ^7

last nominative and the verb, it might appear that the
verb were more closely united to this than any of the
rest, contrary to the truth of the case.

I am perfectly of opinion with this ingenious gram*
tnarian, with respect to the propriety of placing a
pause in speaking, if not in writing, between the last
noun and the verb, but for very ditferent reasons ; if
we ought to insert a pause here, to shew that tlie con-
nection between the last noun and the verb is no
greater than between the verb and the preceding
nouns, no good reason can be given why we should
not place a pause between the last adjective and the
substantive in this sentence :

A polite, an active, and a supple behaviour, is necessary to
succeed in life.

The word behaviour^ in this sentence, is not more
intimately connected in signification with supple,
than with polite and active ; and yet no punctuist
would insert a pause between the tw o former to shew
that the three properties y&o/zYc", active^ diid supple^ were
equally connected with the common word behaviour.
Whence then arises the propriety of placing a pause
between the word health and become in the former
instance ? Evidentl} irom hence : the nominative con-
sists of three particulars, which, though distinguished
from each other by pauses, foiTn but one nominative
plural, and are more coimected with each other
than with the verb they go\em ; their connection,
therefore, with each other, as forming one distinct part,
and not their belonging equally to the verb, is the
reason that a pause is proper. If shewing the con-
nection of dependent words to be equal, were the
reason for placing a pause, xac ought to place a pause
bet\\^een tlie pronoun and the first verb in the follQW-
ing example :

58 ELEMENTS OF

He went into the cavern, found the instruments, hewed
down the trees and in one day put the vessels in a condition
for sailing. Telemachus ,

Here ev^en'^ member depends equally on the pro-
noun /^6•, and yet it would be contrary to the best prac-
tice to i nsert a pause between this word and the verb
xvent. But if the common nominative consisted of
more than one word, a pause would not only be allowa-
ble, but proper, as in the following example :

The active and indefatigable Telemachus, went into the
cavern, found the instruments, hewed down the trees, and in
one day put the vessels in a condition for sailing.

It is, therefore, because the nominative forms a
class of words more intimately connected with each
other than all are with the verb, that makes this part
of speech separable by a pause in the latter example,
and not in the former.*

Rule IX. If there are several adjectives belonging
in the same manner to one substantive, or several
substantives belonging in the same manner to one
adjective, the adjective and substantives are still to
be accounted equal in number ; for every substantive
must hive its adjective, and every adjective its sub-
stantive ; and every adjective coming after its
substantive, and e\'ery adjective coming before
the substantive except the last, must be separated
by a short pause.

EXAMPLE.

A polite, an active, and a supple behaviour, is necessary to
succeed in life.

In this example, behaviour^ as was observed in the
foregoing rule, is understood to belong equally to

* Why a pause may be used in speaking where a comma might be
improper in writing, see p. 23: and why a pause may be admitted, both
in writing and speaking, between the substaiuive and adjective, whea
several adjectives follow the suhstanrive, and not when the adjectives
l)recede the substautive, may be seen at large, p. 36.

ELOCUTION. 59

polite and active, as to supple, and, consequently,
every adjective has its coiiespondent bubstaiitive ;
and as the adjectives come before the substantive,
every one but that which immediateiy precedes its
substantive is separated by a pause. The punctuation
is different in the toilowing sentence :

A behaviour, active, supple, and polite, is necessary to suc-
ceed in life.

In this example, as the substantive precedes the
adjectives, every adjective is separated from the
substantive by a pause : for the reason of this, see
p. ^5.

Rule X. If there are several adverbs belonging in
the same manner to one verb, or several verbs be-
longing in the same manner to one adverb, the verbs
and adverbs are still to be accounted equal in num-
ber ; and if the adverbs come after the verb, tliey are
each of them to be separated by a pause ; but if the
adverbs come before the verb, a pause must separate
each of them i'rom the verb but the last.

EXAMPLES.

To love, wisely, rationally, and prudently, is, in the opinion
of lovers, not to love at all.

Wisely, rationally, and prudently to love, is, in the opinion of
lovers, not to love at all.

In the first example, the verb and adverb are sepa-
rated by a pause, for the same reason that the adjective
was sei^arated trom its substimtivc in the same situa-
tion in the preceding rule ; that is, the verb to love
excites an idea ^vhich the mind may contemplate for
a moment separate!}- from the adAcrb which modifies
it ; and as this ad\ erb is accompanied by others, they
form a class more united by similitude with eacla
other than with the \'crb they modii}' ; and distin-
guishhig the word to ^^iuch ttiey all relate by a pause

60 ELEMEJJTS OP

makes an equal relation to each more distinct and
appai'ent. The reason why this separation does not
take place in the last example, is, that though modify-
ing words may be distinguished from each other,
they cannot be separated, even in idea, from the words^
they modify, because they give the mind no object to
rest on ; and so intimately are they always connected,
that, though the modified word comes first, and by
this means affords the mind a momentary pause, yet
no pause is admitted between the modified and the
modifying word, unless the latter is accompanied
by other modifying words, which then form a
class apart, and require separation both from each
other, and the word they modif}-.
Thus in the following examples :

To eat, drmk, and sleep moderately is greatly conducive t©
health.

Moderately to eat, drink, and sleep is greatly conducive to
health.

We find the adverb moderately , in the first example,
coming after the verb sleep, and unaccompanied by
an}' other words, is not separated from the verb
by a pause, any more than when it precedes the
verb, as in the last example : but eveiy crit-
ical ear will admit of a pause between the verb and
adverb in the following lines of Othello in Shake-
speare :

Then must you speak
Of one, that loved, not wisely, but too well. Shakespeare,

Because in this passage the words, not wisebj but too
well, form a di:>tinct class, and cannot be distinctly
apprehended but by being separated from the verb
they modify.

But when the adverb precedes the verb, it is then
in the same c^se its the adjective before the substan-

iLocuriojj. d

tive ; it is impossible to divide it from the verb hf
a pause.

SXAMfLES.

This ring he holds
Iti ihost rich choice, yet in his idle fire
* To buy his will it would not seem too dear,

Howe'er repented of. Il>tJ.

In this example, the adverb however must neces-
sarily be classed with the verb it precedes, and, con-
sequently, a pause must be placed at dear.

To trace the ways
Of highest agents, deem'd however wise. Milton.

Here the word however modifies the adjective wise,
and therefore is more closely united with it than with
tlie verb deem'^d : and if tliis union be not intimated
b}^ a short pause at deejii'd, the sense will be a little
ambiguous ; as we shall not know whether these
agents are extremely, or only moderately wise. But
when this word is used conjunctively, that is, m hen
we may supply its place by substituting nevertheless^
notwithstanding, yet, or still, a pause ought always
to loiiow it.

EXAMPLES.

In your excuse your love does little say.

You might howe'er* have took a fairer way. Dryden.

Here the word howe''er is used conjunctively, and
a pause after it is highly necessary.

I do not build my reasoning wholly on the case of persecu-
tion ; however, I do not exclude it. Atterhnry.

A pause in this sentence at however, manifestly fixes
and regulates the sense of it.

Rule XI. Whatever words are put into the case ab-
solute, commonly called the ablative ab.soiule, must
be separated from the rest by a short pause.

6^ ELEMENTS OF

EXAMPLES.

If a man borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be hurt or
uie, the owner thereof not being with it, he shall surely make
it good. Old Testament,

Here the owner thereof not being with it^ is the
phrase called the ablative absolute ; and this, like a
parenthesis, must be sepai-ated from the rest of the
sentence by a short pause on each side.

God, from the mount of Sinai, whose grey top
Shall tremble, he descending, will himself
In thunder, lightnings, and loud trumpets' sound
Ordain them laws. Muton.

Here, he descending^ neither governs nor is govern-
ed by any other part of the sentence ; and is said to
be in the ablative absolute, and this independence
must be marked by a short pause before and after
the clause.

Rule Xn. Nouns in apposition, or words in the
same case, where the latter is only explanatory of the
former, have a short pause between them, either if
both these nouns consist of many terms, or the latter
only.

EXAMPLES.

When first thy sire, to send on eartli

Virtue, his darling child, design'd ;

To thee he gave the heav'nly birth,

And bade thee form her infant mind. Gray.

Here the word Virtue^ and the following member,
may be said to be in apposition, and must be divided
by a short pause.

If the two nouns are single, no pause is admitted ;
as. Paid the apostle ; King George : but if the latter
consists of many terms, a short pause is necessary ;
as, Paul^ the apostle of the Gentiles ; George, king
of Great -Britain^ France, and Ireland.

ELOCUTION. 63

The reason of this seems to be the same with
that which permits us to pause between a substan-
tive and adjective in an inverted order, when the lat-
ter has adjuncts that form a class ; for when nouns
are in apposition, the latter, by qualifying the former,
has the nature of an adjective, and is therefore sub-
ject to the same laws of punctuation.

Rule XIII. Who, which, when in the nominative
case, and the pronoun that, when used for who, or
xvhich, require a short pause before them.

EXAMPLES.

A man can never be obliged to submit to any power, unless
he can be satisfied, who is the person, who has a right to exer-
cise it. Locke.

To which, their want of judging abilities, add also their
want of opportunity to apply such a serious consideration as
may let them into the true goodness and evil of things, ivhich
are qualities, which seldom display themselves to the first
view. South.

You'll rue the time,

That clogs me with this answer. Shakespeare,

Nothing they but dust can show.

Or bones, that hasten to be so. Cowley.

Saints, that taught, and led the way to Heav'n. Ticket.

Rule XIV. When that is used as a casual con-
junction, it ought always to be preceded by a short
pause.

EXAMPLES.

It is not, that I love you less

Than when before your feet I lay.

But to prevent the sad increase

Of hopeless love, I keep away. Waller,

Forgive me, that I thus your patience wrong. Coivley.

The custom and flimiliarity of these tongues do sometimes
so far influence the expre<;sIons in these epistles, that one may
observe the force of the Hebrew conjugations. Locke.

^4 ELEMENTS OY

There is the greater necessity for attending to this
rule, as we so frequently find it neglected in printing :
for fear of crowding the line with points, and appear-
ing to clog the sense to the eye, the ear is often de-
frauded of her unquestionable rights. I shall give
two instances, among a thousand that might be
brought, to shew where this is the case.

1 must therefore desire the reader to remember that, by the
pleasures of the imagination, I mean only such pleasures as
arise originally from sight. Spectator t No. 411.

It is true the hi,s:her nature still advances, and by that
menns, preserves his distance and superiority in the scale of
T)eing ; but he knows that, how high soever the station is of
which he st nds possessed at present, the inferior nature will
at length mount up to it, and shine forth in the same degree
of glory. Spectator, No. 111.

•

In these examples, we find the incidental member
succeeding the conjunction t/iat is separated from it
by a pause ; but the pause which ought to precede
this conjunction is omitted : this punctuation runs
through our M'hole orthography, and is the more
culpable, as the insertion of the pause after t/iat^
where it is less wanted than before, is more apt to
mislead the reader than if he saw no pause at all.

Rule XV. Prepositions and conjunctions are
more united with the words they precede than with
those they follow ; and, consequently, if it be neces-
sary' to pause, the preposition and conjunction ought
to be classed with the succeeding words, and not
with the preceding.

EXAMPLES.

A violent passion, for universal admiration, produces the most
ridiculous circumstance^, in the general behaviour, of women
of the most excellent understandings.

As it lias been formerly J:fmarked, (p. 35.) we
may pauijc fow times in this seiittnce, ii necessary,

ELOCUTION. ^^

without in the least hurting the sense : that is, at
passion, ad?mrqtionj circumstances, and behaviour ;
but, if instead of pausing at these words, we were
to pause at the words for, produces, in, ando/^ which
are the words immediately succeeding, we shall soon
perceive to which words the prepositions naturally
belong.

Homer and Hesiod intimate to us how this art should be
applied, when they represent the Muses as surrounding Jupiter^
and warbling hymns about his throne.

In this example, the conjunction as, and the cop-
ulative and, in the last clause, must necessarily be
classed with the succeeding, and not the preceding
words.

I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

Old Testament,

Here the conjunction except, naturally associatei^
^vith the latter part of the sentence, and requires a
short pause before it.

This let him know,
Lest, wilfully transgressing, he pretend
Surprisal. Milton.

In this example the conjunction lest is very properly
separated from the preceding words by a short pause
at know, and as the parenrhetick words wilfully
transgressing come between the conjunction, and the
pronoun to which it belongs, the conjunction has
very properly a pause both before and after it.

People expect in a small essay, that a point of humour should
be worked up, in all Its parts, and a subject touched upon, in
its most essential articles, without the repetitions, tautologies,
and enlargements, that are indulged to longer labours.

Spectator f No. 124.

In this sentence the preposition up is separated from
in, because it enters into the composition of the verb
9

&6 ELEMENTS OF

work, as to work up forms one complex verb ; the
same may be observed of the preposition upon, in the
next clause of the sentence. An exception to this
will be found in the folloAving rule.

Rule XVI. When words are placed either in
opposition to, or in apposition with, each other, the
words so placed require to be distinguished by a
pause.

This is a rule of veiy great extent, and will be
more fully treated under the article Emphasis : it
will be proper, ho\^■erer, to give a general idea of it.
in this place, as pause and force are very different
things, and ought therefore to be treated separately
and distinctly.

EXAIHPLES.

The pleasures of the imagination, taken in their full extent,
are not so gross as those of sense, nor so refined as those of
Ae understanding. Spectator, No. 411.

In this example we shall find all uTiters and print-
ers agree in placing but one pause between the four
contrasted parts, and this point is at sense : here, it
must be owned, is the principal pause ; but it must
likewise be ackno^\ ledged by ever}^ judicious ear,
that a short pause at gross, and another at rejined,
convey more forcibly and distinctly every part ot the
sentence.

Some place the bliss ia action, some in ease ;
Those call it pleasure, and contentment these.

Papers Essay on Man,

In this couplet we never see a pause after the two
words some in the first line, nor after the words
those and contentment in the second ; and yet no-
thing can be more evident than that a short pause
after these words tends greatl}- to place the sense in
a clear and distinct point of view.

EXOCITTIOIf. ^1^7

111 tlie satne manner, when one object is succes-
sively contrasted with another, though these objects
form the nominative case to the verb, iuid consist
but of a single word, it is necessary to pause after
each, in order to show the contrast more distinct-

EXAMPLES.

At the same ttme that 1 think discretion the most useful la-
lent a man can be master of, 1 look upon cunning to be the
accomplishment of little, mean, ungenerous minds. Discretion
points out the noblest ends to us, and pursues the most proper
and laudable methods of attaining them : Cunning has only-
private selfish aims, and sticks at nothing which may make
them succeed. Discretion has large and extended views, and,
like a well formed eye, commands a whole hotizon : Cunning
is a kind of short-sightedness, that discovers the minutest ob-
jects that are near at hand, but is not able to discern things
at a distance. Discretion, the more it is discovered, gives
a greater authority to the person who possesses it ; Cunning,
when it is once detected, loses its force, and makes a man
incapable of bringing about even those events which he might
have done, had he passed only for a plain man. Discretion
is the perfection of reason, and a guide to us in all the duties
of life : Cunning is a kind of instinct, that only looks out after
our immediate interest and welfare. Discretion is only found
in men of strong sense and good understandings : Cunning
is often to be met with in brutes themselves, and in persons
who are but the fewest removes from them : in short. Cun-
ning is only the mimick of Discretion, and may pass upon >
weak men, in the same maner as vivacity is often mistaken
for wit, and gravity for wisdom, ylddison's Spectator, No. 2'25.

In this passage, much of the force and precision
of the contrast l:)ctween discretion and cunning \^ould
be lost without a sensible pause after each.

The necessity of distinguishing opposite or con-
trasted parts in a sentence, will sometimes oblige us
to separate ^\o^ds tliat are the most intimately
united.

EXAMPLES.

To suppose the zodiack and planets to be efficient of, and
antecedent to themselves, would be absurd. Bentley.

^ ELEMENTS 01;

Here the prepositions of and to are in opposition
to each other, and both connected intimately with
the word themselves ; but this connection does
not preclude the necessity of a pause after each,
to show their distinct and specifick relation to their
governing M^ords, and their equal relation to the com-
mon word themselves. Indeed, the words o/*and to,
in this sentence are emphatical, from that exactness
and precision which the argument seems to require.

It is objected by readers of history, that the battles in those
narrations are scarce ever to be understood. This misfortune
is to be ascribed to the ignorance of historians in the methods
of drawing up, changing the forms of battalia, and the enemy
retreating from, as well as approaching to, the charge.

Sped. No. 4-28.

The pretexts were, his having invaded and overcome many
states that were in alliance with, and under the protection of
Rome. Goldsmith's Rom Hist.

Though a pause seems admissible both lifter Jrom and
to in this sentence, yet the opposition between these
prepositions seems as much maiked by emphasis as
by rest : and in examples of this kind it seems neces-
sary to pause a smaller time* after the last preposition
than after the first.

To sum up the whole in a few ^^ords, as those clas-
l/ses of words which admit of no separation are very
' small and verj' few, if we do but take the opportunity
of pausing where the sense will permit, we shall nev-
er be obliged to break in upon the sense when we
■find ourselves under a necessity of pausing ; but if
we overshoot ourselves by pronouncing more in a
breath than is neccssarj^ and neglecting those inter-
vals where we may pause conveniently, we shall of-
ten find ourselves obliged to pause where the sense is
not separable, and, consequently, to weaken and ob-
scure the composition. This observation, for the
sake of the niemor} , may be conveniently coniprised
in the following verses :

ELOCUTION.

In pausing, ever let this nile take place.

Never to separate words in any case

That are less separable than those you join :

And, which imports the iame, not to combine

Such words together as do not relate

So closely as the words you separate.

The interrogation, exclamation, and parenthesis,
seem rather to be whole sentences than members olP
a sentence ; and as they are distinguished from others,
more by a peculiar inflection of voice than by paus-
ing, they naturally belong to that part of this ess^
which treats of those inflections of voice which fire
annexed to sentences, and parts of sentences, acccwji-
ing to their diftbrent structure and signification.

Thus have I attempted, with a trembling hand'
to hint a few more rules for pausing than have been
hitherto generally adopted ; and though but littleris
accomplished, I flatter myself enough is done to
show how much farther we might go in this subject,
if we Avould apply ourselves to it systematically, and
leave less to tlie taste and understanding of the
reader.

I doubt not but many will be displeased at the -
number of pauses I have added to those already in
use ; but I Cimjoath-coofideuce- affirm^, tlmt not half
the pauses are found in printing which are heard in
the pronunciation of a good reader or speaker ; and
that, Ifwe would read or speak well, we must pause
upon an average, at every fifth or sixth ^v'ord. It
must also be observed, that publick reading, or
speaking, requires pausing much oi'tener, than reading
and conversing in private ; as the parts of a picture
\^ hich is to be viewed at a distance, must be more
distinctly and strongly marked, than those of un ob-
jecL which arc nearer to the eye, and understood at the
first inspection.

70 ELEMENTS OF

Introduction to the Theory of the Inflections of the

Voice.

' Besides the pauses, which indicate a greater or
less separation of the parts of a sentence and a con-
ckision of the whole, there are certain inflections of
iv«ice, accompanying these pauses, which are as ne-
cessaiy to tlie sense of tlie sentence as the pauses
themselves ; for, however exactly we may pause be-
i tween those parts which are separable, if we do not
fpaflse with such an inflection of the voice as is suited
\ to the sense, the composition we read will not only
waoit its true meaning, but will have a meaning very
different from that intended by the writer. How de-
^^^ble, therefore, must any method be, that can con-
vey to us that inflection of voice which is best suited
to the sense of an author ! but this will at first sight
' be pronounced impossible. What ! it will be said,
will any one pretend to convey to us, upon paper, all
that force, beauty, variet}% and harmony, which a
■gtJod reader throws into composition, when he enters
into the spirit of his author, and displays every pait of
f.^'* it to advantage ? No, it may be answered, this is not
attempted : but, because all this cannot be done, is
it impossible to do any piut of it ? Because the ex-
act time of pausing is not always denoted by the
points in use, is it useless to have any marks of pausing
at all ? Because the precise degree of emj^hatick Ibrce
is not conveyed by printing some words in a diflerent
character, cannot we sometimes assist the reader in
apprehending the force or feebleness of pronunciation,
by printing the emphatical words in Italicks ? The
practice of this in books of instruction sufficiently
shews it is not entirely useless ; and, if executed with
more judgment, there is little doubt of its being ren-
dered still more useful.

ELOCUTION. ft

The truth is, something relative to the pronuncia-
tion can be conveyed by written marks, and some-
thing cannot. The pauses between sentences, and
members of sentences, may be conveyed ; the accent
on any paiticulai- syllable of a word may be convey-
ed ; the emphasis on any particular word in a sen-
tence may be conveyed ; and it is presumed it will
be demonstrated in the course of this work, that a
certain inflection of voice, which shows the import of
the pauses, forms the harmony of a cadence, distin-
guishes emphasis into its different kinds, and gives
each kind its specifick and determinate meaning, may
be as clearly conveyed upon paper, as either the
pause, the accent, or the emphatick \^ ord : — Here
then is one step farther, in the art of reading, than
any author has hitherto ventured to go ; and that this
new step is not entirely visionary and impracticable,
will more clearly appear by considering the nature
of speaking sounds.

Of the tivo simple Injlections of the Voice-.

All vocal sounds may be divided into two kinds,
narnely7"speakin"^^sOTinds", arid musical sounds. Mu-
sical sounds aresnc+ras continuea^-^ireft'time on
one precise point of the musical scale, and leap, as it
were, from one note to another ; while_speaking
sounds, instead of dvvclling on the note they begio^
^^■llh, slide* either upwaixls, or downwards, to the
neighbouring iiotes, without any perceptible rest on
any : so that speaking and musical sounds are essen-
tially distinct ; the former being constantly in mo-
tion from the moment they commence ; the latter
being at rest for some given time in one precise
note.

* Smith's Harmonicks, p. 3. Note (c)

72 ELEMENTS OF

The continual motion of speaking sounds makes
it almost as impossible for the ear to mark their sev-
eral diiferences, as it would be for the eye to define
an object that is swiftly passing before it, and contin-
ually vanishing away ; the difficulty of arresting
speaking sounds for examination, has made almost
all authors suppose it impossible to give any such
distinct account of them, as to be of use in speaking
and readhig; and, indeed, the vast variety of tone
which a good reader or speaker throws into delive-
n^, and of which it is impossible to convey any idea
but by imitation, has led us easily to suppose that
nothing at all of this variety can be defined and redu-
ced to rule : but when we consider, that whether
words are pronounced in a high or low, in a loud or
a soft tone ; whether they are pronounced swiftly or
slowly, forcibly or feebly, with the tone of the pas-
sion, or without it ; they must necessarily be pro-
nounced either sliding upwards or downwiirds, or
else go into a monotone or song ; when we consider
this, I say, we shall find, that the primar\^ division
of speaking sounds is into the upward and the down-
ward slide of the voice ; and that whatever other
diversity of time, tone, or force, is added to speaking
it must necessarily be conveyed by these two slides.

These two slides, or inflections of voice, therefore,
are the axis, as it were, on which the force, variety,
and harmony of speaking turns. They may be con-
sidered as the gieat outlines of pronunciation ; and
if these outlines can be tolerably conveyed to a rea-
der, they must be of nearly the same use to him, as
the rough draught of a picture is to a pupil in paint-
ing. This then we shiU attempt to accomplish, by
adducing some of the most familiar phrases in the
language, and pointing out the inflections which ev-
en* ear, however unjjractised, will naturally adopt in
pronouncing them. These phrases, v.hich arc in
every body's mouth, will become a kind oi data, or

ELOCUTION. .*23

principles, to which the reader must constantly be
rcfeiTcd, when he is at a loss for the precise sound
that is understood by these different inflections ;
and these familiar sounds, it is presumed, will suffi-
ciently instruct him.

Method of explaining the Injlections of the Voice.

It must first be premised, that, by the rising or fall-
ing inflection, is not meant the pitch of voice in which
the whole word is pronounced, or that loudness or
softness which may accompany any pitch ; but that
upward or downward slide which the voice makes
when the pronunciation of a word is finishing ; and
which may, therefore, not improperly be called the
rising and falling inflection.

So important is a just mixture of these two inflec^
tions, that the moment they are neglected, our pro-
nunciation becomes forceless and monotonous : if the
sense of a sentence require the voice to adopt the ris-
ing inflection on any particular word, either in the
middle, or at the end of a phrase, variet)' and harmo-
ny demand the falling inflection on one of the preced-
ing words ; and on the other hand, if emphasis, hai*.
mony, or a completion of sense, require the falling
inflection on any word, die word immediately pre-
ceding, almost always, demands the rising inflec-
tion ; so that these inflections of voice are in an or-
der nearly alternate.

This is very observable in reading a sentence, when
M^e have mistaken the connection between the mem-
bers, either by supposing the sense is to be continued
when it finishes, or supposing it finished when it is
really to be continued : for in either of these cases,
before we have pronounced the last word, we find it
nesessary to return pretty far back to some of the
preceding words, in order to give them such mflec-
10

74 ELEMENTS OF

tions as are suitable to those which the sense re-
quires on the succeeding words. Thus, in pronoun-
cing the speech of Fortius in Cato, which is gene-
rally mis-pointed, as in the following example :

Remember what our father oft has told us,
The ways of heav'n are dark and intricate,.
Puzzled in mazes and perplex'd in errors ;
Gur understanding traces them in vain,
Lost and bewilder'd in the fruitless search :
Nor sees with how much art the windings run.
Nor where the regular confusion ends.

If, I say, from not having considered this passage,^
we run the second line into the third, by suspending-
the voice at intricate in the rising infection, and
dropping it at errors in the falling, we find a very im-
proper meaning conveyed ; and if, in recovering our-
selves from this, improper pronunciation, we take no-
tice of the diflferent manner in which we pronounce
the second and third; lines, we shall find, that not on-
ly the last word of these lines, but that ever}^ word
alters its inflection ; for, when we perceive, that by
mistaking the pause, we have misconceived the
sense, we find it necessary to begin the line again,
and pronounce every word differently, in order to
make it harmonious..

But though these two inflections of voice run
through almost every word' of which a sentence is
composed, they are no where so perceptible as at a
long pause, or where the sense of the words requires
an emphasis ; especially if the word end with a long
open vowel : in this case, if we do but attend nicely
to that turn of the voice which finishes this emphati-
eal word, or that member of a sentence where we
pause, we shall soon perceive the different inflection
with which these words are pronoimced.

In order to make this different inflection of voice
more easily apprehended, it may not, perhapS;^ be

EiocuTio*r. 75

useiess to attend to the following directions. Let
us suppose we are to pronounce the fbiiowmg sen-
tence:

Does Ciesar deserve fame or blame?

This sentence, it is presumed, will, at first sight,
be pronounced with the proper inflections of voice,
by every one that can barely read ; and if the reader
will but narrowly Avatch the sounds of the words
fame and blame^ he will have an example of the two
inflections here spoken of : Jame will have the rising,
luid blame the falling inflection : But, to make this
distinction still clearer, if, instead of pronouncing the
woiiS. fame slightly, he does but give it a strong em-
phatick force, and let itdnswl ofi the tongue for some
time before the sound finishes, he will find it slide
upwards, and end in a rising tone ; if he makes the
same experiment on the word blame^ he will find the
sound slide downwards, and end in a falling tone :
imd this drawling pronunciation, though it lengthens
the sounds beyond their proper duration, does not
alter them essentially ; the same inflections aie pre-
served as in the common pronunciation ; and the
distinction is as real in one mode of pronouncing as
in the other, though not so perceptible.

Eveiy pause, of whatever kind, must necessarily
adopt one of these two inflections, or continue in a
monotone : thus, when we ask a question without
the interrogative words, we naturally adopt the rising
inflection on the last word ; as.

Can Caesar deserve blame ? Impossible !

Here blame^ the last word of the question, has the
rising inflection, contrary to the inflection on that
word in the former instance ; and impossible^ \\ ith
the note of admiration, the falling : The comma, or
that suspension of voice generally annexed to it,
\\'hich marks a continuation of the sense, is most f re>

76 ELEMENTS Ol'

quently accompanied by the rising inflection, as ii>
the following sentence :

If Caesar deserves blame, he ought to have no fame.

Here we find the word blame ^ marked with a comma,
has exactly the same inflection of voice as the same
word in the interrogative sentence immediately pre-
ceding ; the only difference is, that the rising inflec-
tion slides higher at the interrogation than at the com-
ma, especially if it be pronounced with emphasis.

The three other points, namely, the semicolon,
colon, and period, adopt either the rising or falling in-
flection, as the sense or harmony requires, though in
different degrees of elevation and depiession. But
these different degrees of rising or falling on the slide
which ends the word, are by no means so essential as
the kind of slide we adopt. Thus in tlie following
sentences :

As we cannot discern the shadow moving along the dial-
pla:e, so the advances we make in knowledge are only per-
ceivable by the distance gone over.

As we perceive the shadow to have moved, but did not per-
ceive it moving ; so our advances in learning, consisting oi
insensible steps, are only perceivable by the distance.

As we perceive the shadow to have moved along the dial,
but did not perceive it moving ; and it appears that the grass
has i^ro Arn, though noboJy ever saw it grow ; so the advan-
ces we make in knovvledaje, is they consist of such minute steps,
are only perceivable by the distance.

Here, I say, the words dial-plate^ moving^ and
grow^ marked with a comm-i, semicolon, and colon,
must necessarily end with the upward slide ; and,
provided this slide be adopted, it is not of any very
great consequence to the sense whether the slide be
raised much or little ; but if the downward slide be
given to any of these words, though in the smallest
degree, the sense will be materially affected.

ELOCUTION. 77

The same points, ^^'hen the sentence is differently
constructed, iidopt the other inflection.

Thus the inflection of voice which is adopted in a
series of emphtitick particultirs, for the sake of force
and precision, though these particulars are marked by
commas only, is die falling inflection : we have an
example of this in the true pronunciation of the fol-
lowing sentence.

I tell you, though you, though all the world, though an
angel from heaven, were to affirm the truth of it, I could not
believe it.

That this is the proper inflection on each of these
particulars, \vill more evidently appear by repeating
them with the opposite inflection ot voice, or that sus-
pension usually given to the comma :

I tell you, though you, though all the world, though aa
angel from heaven were to affirm the truth of it, 1 could not
believe it.

In pronouncing this sentence, therefore, hi order to
give force and precision to evcr}^ portion, the fal:i;g
inflection ought to be adopted on yow, worlds and
heaven ; and ibr the sake of convey iiig \\ hat is meant
by this inflection, we may call each of these words
eniphatical, and print them in Italicks ; not that all
emphasis necessarily adopts the failing inflection, but
because this inflection is generally annexed to em-
phasis, for want of a just idea of the distinction oi m-
flcction here laid down :

I tell you, though you. though all the 'world, though an an-
gel from heaven, were to affiim the truth of it, 1 could not be-
lieve it.

The falling inflection annexed to members of sen-
tences generall}- marked with the semicolon and co-
lon, may be seen in the following example :

78 ELEMENTS OP

Persons of good taste expect to be pleased, at the same time
they are informed ; and think that the best sense always de-
serves the best language ; but still the chief regard is to be had
to perspicuity.

In this example, the word informed is marked with
the semicolon, and the word language with the colon ;
and from the sense and structure of the sentence, both
require the falling inflection, contrary to that annex-
ed to the same points in tlie preceding sentences.
The period in each sentence has the falling inflection,
and in the last sentence is pronounced in a lower
tone of voice than the same inflection on the colon
and semicolon.

Thus we see, that whatever variety of another kind,
such as loudness or softness, highness or lowness,
swiftness or slowness, or whatever other variety we
may accompany the points with, they must necessari-
ly adopt either the rising or falling inflection, or
be pronounced in a monotone. These inflections,
therefore, which are the most marking diflferences in
reading and speaking, perhaps, are not improperly
pitched upon to serve as guides to an accurate pro-
nunciation ; but as so much depends upon a just no-
tion of this real though delicate distinction, if the
reader is not yet made sufiiciently acquainted with it,
he will not think it superfluous to peruse the following
attempt to render it still clearer.

Another Metliod of explaining the Inflections of the

Foice,

Every sentence consisting of an affirmation and
negation directly opposed to each other, has an appro -
priated pronunciation, which, in earnest speaking, ev-
ery ear adopts without any premeditation. Thus in
the following sentence i

BLOeUTJON. 79

Caf sar does not deserve fame, but blame.

Here the word fame has the rising, and blame the
falling inflection ; and we find all sentences construct-
ed in the same manner, have , like this, the risingja^..
flection on the netrativertmd the-^falling inflection on
the-a&ffiative mem (5^17 The word blame ^ there-
fore, in this sentence, has not the falling inflection on
it because it is the last word, but because affirmation,
opposed to negation, naturally adopts this inflection.

Thus far choice has been made of words different
in sense, though similar in sound, that the sentence
might appear to carry some meaning with it, and the
reader be led to annex those inflections to the ^\'ords
which the sense seemed to demand ; but, perhaps^
the shortest method of conveying the nature of these
inflections, would be to take the same word, and
place it in the interrogative and declarative sentences^
in opposition to itself : Thus it is certain, that every
speaker, upon pronouncing the following phrases^
would give the '^x'sXfame in each line the rising, imd
the Idst Jcime in each line the falling inflection :

Does he say fame, or fame ?
He does not say fame, but fame.

But here an ear which cannot discern the true differ-
ence of sound in these words, will be apt to suppose
that what difference there is, arises from the hstjatji^
being pronounced in a lower tone than the first ; but
this, it may be observed, makes no essential differ-
ence : Let us pronounce the last word in as high a
key as wc please, pro\ided we preserve the proper
inflection, the contrast to the former word will appear ;;
as a proof of this, let us pronounce the last ^^ oi d of
the last phrase with a strong emphasis, and we shall
find, that though it is in a higher key than the first
wordfame^ the \oice slides in a contrary direction.
Accordingly wc find, that if Ave lay the strong em

fiO BLEMENTS OF

phasis upon the first fame in the following sentence,
the last fame will take the rising inflection :

He szys fame, and not fame.

So that the inflections on the first and last ya;;?c', in
this sentence, are in an opposite order to the same
inflections on the same words in the two former
phrases.

But, perhaps, by this time, the reader's ear is puz-
zled with the soundsof single words, and it may not
be amiss to tiy it with the same inflections, terminating
members of sentences : This, perhaps, will not only
convey the nature of these two inflections better than
by sounding them upon single words, but give us, at
the same time, a better idea of their importance and
utility. And, first, let the reader tr}- over the follow-
ing passage of Mr. Addison in the Spectator, by read-
ing it so as to place the rising inflection, or that in-
flection commonly marked by a comma, on every-
particular of the series :

The descriptive part of this allegory is likewise very strong,
and full of sublime ideas : The figure ot Death, the regal
crown upon his head, his menace of Satan, his advancing t(»
the combat, the outcry at his birth, are circimstances too no-
ble to be passed over in silence, and extremely suitable to
this king of terrours.

Then let him practise it over by reading it so as to
place the failing inflection, or that inflection commonly
marked b\^ a colon, on every particular of the series
but the last ; to which let him give the rising inflection,
marked by the comma :

The descriptive part of this allegory is likewise very strong,
and full of sub i me ideas : The igure of Death, the regal
crown upon his head, his menace of Satan : his advancing
to the combat : the outcry at his birth, are circumstances too
nob'e to be passed over in siicnce, and extremely suitable to
this king of terrours.

ELOCUTION-. 8X

Tliis last manner of reading this passage is un-
questionably the true one, as it throws a kind of em-
phasis on each member whicli forms a beautiful
climax, entirely lost in the common mode of pro-
nouncing them : and, to omit no method that may
tend to convev an idea of this difference of inflection,
let us suppose these words to be all emphatical, and,
as such, according to the common method they may
be printed in Italicks ; this is not an accurate idea of
emphasis, as \\ ill be shewn hereafter, but it is the
common one, and, as such, may serve to shew the
difterence between pronouncing the first example and
the second.

The descriptive part of this allegory is likewise very strong
and full of sublime ideas : The figure of Death: the regal
crown upon his head : his menace of Satan : his advancing
to the combat : the outcry at his birth, are circumstances too no-
ble to be passed over in silence, and extremely suitable to this
king of terrours.

If the reader, from this description of the inflec-
tions of the voice, can so far understand them as to
be sensible of the great difference there is between
suspending the voice at every comma in the first ex-
ample, and giving it a forcible downward direction at
every colon in the two last examples, it is presumed,
he will sufficiently conceive, that this distinction of
the two leading inflections of the voice may be ap-
plied to the most useful purposes in the ait of reiid-
ing. But in order to give a still cleiu'er idea, if pos-
sible, of these two different inflections we shall subjoin
a sort of scale or diagram, with an explanation of each
example annexed.

%2 ELEMENTS OF

Explanation of Plate I.
No. I. l!)id he do it voluntarily or involuntarily i

In the pronunciation of these words, Ave find every
syllable in the word voluntarily rises except the first,.
vol; and every syllable in the Avord involuntarihj falls
but the first, in. A slow drawling pronunciation of
Aese words will evidently show that this is the case.
These different slides of the voice are named from the
direction they take in the conclusion of a word, as that
is the most apparent,, especially if there are several
syllables after the accented- syllable, or if the word
be but of one syllable, and terminate in a vowel or a
liquid : for, in this case, the sound lasts some time
after the word is articulated- Thus voluntarily may
be said to have the rising,, and involuntarily the fall-
ing inflection ; and we must carefully guard against
mistaking the low tone at the beginning of the rising-
inflection for the falling inflection,, and the high tone
at tlie beginning of the flilling inflection, for the rising
inflection, as they are not denominated rising or fall-
ing from the high or low tone in which they are pro-
nounced, but, from the upward or downward slide in
which they terminate, whether pronounced in a high
or a low key.

In this representation we see something of that
wave-like rising and falling of the voice, which con-
stitutes the variety and harmony of si:>eech. It will
not be easy at first to conceive this correspondence
between the eye and the ear, especially if we do not
dwell distinctly on the words we repeat ; but I flatter
my sell a little custom will soon render it clear, at least
with respect to the Avords that are accented or em-
phatical ; for it is to be obserAcd, that in this scheme
every m ord, vAhether accented or not, is arranged un-

tXOCUTION. -88

3cr that line of sound to which it belongs : though the
unaccented words are generally pronounced so fee-
±>\y, as to render it often vcr\' difficult to say to which
class the}^ belong ; that is, whether to the rising or
falling inflection ; but when the accented or emphatick
words ha\ e their proper inflection, the subordinate
words can scarcely be in an improper one ; and tliis
jnakes the difficulty of ascertaining their true inflec-
tion of less consequence. The accented or emphatick
words, therefore, are those onl)'- which we need at pre-
sent attend to ; and those in good speaking and read-
ing, we shall find constantly adopting such an inflec-
tion as is suitable to the sense and harmony of the
sentence.

The sentence No. I. and any otlier sentence con-
structed in exacth^ the same manner, must neces-
sarily adopt tlic risiiig inflection on the first member,
and the falling on the last ; that is, the rising inflec-
tion on vol/intaril//, and the falling on involuntarily ;
and this pronunciation is so appropriated to this
species of sentence, that the dullest and most unprac-
tised eai' would, without the least reflection, adopt it.
The same may be said of the sentence, No. II. which
e\ cry eiu* would agree in pronouncing vv ilh the same
inflections in a contrary order ; that is, the falling
inflection on L'o/ww^«r////, and the rising on vnvolun-
iarily.

No, III. and IV. shew that the same words take
diflcrent inflections in correspondence with the sense
and structure of tlie sentence ; lor as the word con-
stitution^ in No. IV. only ends a member of the
sentence, and iea\'es the sense uufiuished, it necessari-
ly adopts the suspending or rising inflection ; and har-
mony rccjuires tlr.t the .preceding words should be
so arranged, as to forra the greatest harmony and
^•anety, uhich is done by giving e\'ery one of the
^vords \\n infieci;) i, <lifterent from what it has in No.
IIJ. where cfnutitution ends the sentence.

84 ELEMENTS OP

But when we say a word is to have the rising Iii^

, flection, it is not meant that this word is to be pro-

. nounced in a higher tone than other words, but that

! the latter pait of the word is to have a higher tone

Ithiin the former part; the same may be observed,

^utatis mutandisy of the falling inflection ; and this

difference of tone between the former and latter part

of a word (especially if the word be a monosyllable,)

is so difficult to analyse, that though we can per*

ceive a diflference upon the whole, we cannot easily

mark where it lies.

But if we form a series of words, beginning with
long polysyllables, and proceeding to monosyllables,
and carefully preserve the same inflection on each
sentence, we shall plainly perceive the diversity of
inflection in the short as well as in the long w ords.
This will appear by pronouncing the different series
in tlie plate amiexed.

Explanation of Plate II.

In this table we find the rising and falling inflec-
tions ver}^ distinguishable in the long vords, and
grow more and more imperceptible in the short ones ;
tliey are, how ever, no less real in one, than in the oth-
er ; as a good ear will easily perceive, by beginning
at the long words, and repeating do^^■n to the sl\ort
ones. From No. I. to No. IX. the contrasted words
are rising at the comma, and falling at the note of
interrogation ; and from No. X. to No. XVII I. they
are falling at the comma, and rising at the period.

Lest an inaccurate ear should be led to suppose
that the diflerent signification ot the opposing avoi ds
is the rcabon of their sounding difteiently, we have
given some phrases composed of the same words,
wliich are nevertheless pronounced with exactly ihe
same dilierence of uitiection as the others. Thus

r,'/- Itn/l,^

isf/v

XIX /h,/ /ir ,/-■////,//,/

A/// ///• /I,/,;/ , .i/i/rn/;,- //' /<■»!
X XI //A. ,,r/r-t/ ,v-y///v/.".r />■ Ain A^ r.-.n /,/ n oA A.ivr
,,,/r,A j„.s/Ay. A.,,/ /./.y„.v//r

ELOCUTION. ^ 65

the words conscience^ No. IV. are pronounced with
the same dilTtrcnce of inflection as the precedirg'
phrases ; that is, the lirst conscience has the rising
and the last the falling inflection ; the following
words, unjtistly^ pride ^ nmid^ a 11^ and lad, have the
same diversity of pronunciation ; and the diversity
in these, as in the rest, is in an inverted order in the
opposite column.

If we consider these slides or inflections \vith re-
spect to quantity ; that is, how long tlie upward in-
flection continues to rise from the point where it be-
gins, and ho^v long the downward iriflection falls from
its commencing point ; we shall find that as this dif-
ference is not easily ascertained, so, in an outline of
this kind, it is of no great consequence : the rising or
faiiiiig of the slide, in a greater or a less degree, does
not essentially afiect the sense or harmony of a sen--
tence ; while adopting one slide for the other, will
oitcn destro} both. See p. 75.

Thus in the interrogative sentence. No. XIX.
Did he act justly ? the voice ought to adopt the rising
inliection, and continue the upward slide on the word
justly, somevv hat longer arid higher than if it had
been a mere comma ; and yet, if v>c mark the rising'
inflection on the word justly in the sentence, No. XX.
the diflerence of the slides on these t\\o words in these
diiicient sentences is not very eonsidcrable.

It We consider the seritence. No. XXI. as conclud-
ing a subject or a cousideral^le branch of it, the voice
will gradual!} slide into a lovvcr tone towards the end,
and the \\ oi d uvjtisfly will be pronounced in a lower
tone of voice thun i!i the sentence. No. V. ; but the
do^v■nward slide in both ^\ili be nearh- of the same
du ration and ex u,r,t : for, as we have before observ-
ed, as the diiiciciit key in which we sing or play a
tune, makes no dirilrenee in the length or shortness of
the notes ; so In.e (iifl'erent pitch of voice in which
we spciiiv or read, ijas no relation to tlie height or low-

Z6 £^M£NTS OF

ness of the slide or inflection with wliicli wie terminate
our words.

It will be necessary for the pupil to practise over
these series of words, and to form sentences of his
own, for tlie purpose of using tlie ear to distinguish
the inflections. In order to diis, he must dwell lon-
ger on the words at which he pauses, and on those
which have emphasis, than is proper when he is read-
ing or speaking in common, that the ear may be better
enabled to catch tlic inflection : it may be remarked
too, that the more colloquial and familiar tlie language,
provided it is earnest and emphatical, die more per-
ceptible the inflections are ; and the more elevated and
poetical, the less so. The pkuntive tone, so essen-
tial to the delivery of elegiack composition, greatly
diminishes the slides, and reduces them almost to
monotones ; nay, a periect monotone, without any
inflection at all, is sometimes very judiciously intro-
duced in reading verse. Thus in the sublime de-
scription of the richness of Satan's throne, in the be-
ginning of the second book of Piiradise Lost :

High on a throne of royal state which far
Outshone the wealth of Ormus or of Inde,
Or where the gorgeous East with richest hand
Show'rs on her kings barbarick pearl and gold,
Satan exalted sat.

In this passage, I say, every word of the third and
fourth line, but pea?-! and gold, may be pronounced in
a monotone ; and this monotone \\ ill greatly add
to the dignity and grandeur of the object described.

As poetry, therefore, when pro|)erly read, will of-
ten greatly diminish, and sometimes even entirely
sink the inflections into a monotone ; emphatick sen-
tences in prose will be the best for the learner to
practise upon, in order to acquire an idea of the
tliffei"ence of inflection : constantly observing to pro-

ZtocvTionr. S^

long and drawl out the pronunciation of the word, the
inflection of which he wants to discover.

Perhaps the best method of knowing whether wc
make use of the inflection we intend, is to form it
into a question with the disjunctive or, and to repeat
it in the same manner as the inteiTOgative sentencesj
Plate II.

Thus in the following sentence :

A contented mind, and a good conscience, will make a man
happy in all conditions.

In order to pronounce this sentence to the best
advantiige, it will be necessary to lay the falling in-
flection on the word mind, the rising on conscience,
and the falling on all; if I would know the falling
inflection I am to lay on /;?mr/, let me form the word
into this question, Is it mind, or mind ? and the pro-
nunciation of the last mind, as in No. VII. will be
that which I must adopt in the sentence ; if I want
to know the rising inflection on conscience, I must
say,. Is it conscience, or conscience ? and the first pro-
nunciation of the word, as in No. IV. is that which
I must adopt : the fiiliing inflection on all will be
determined by saying. Is it ally or all ? as the last
all lias the inflection sought for.

In the same manner, if, in the following couplet of
Pope,

What the weak head with strongest bias rules
Is pride ; the never-tailing vice of fools.

If in this couplet, I say, Me are directed to lay
the falling inflection on pride, v.e need only form the
word into this cjuestion — Is it pride, or pride ? and
the last being the falling inflection, is thiit which we
ought to adopt in reading the couplet.

It may not, pcrhajis, l^e altogether useless to ob-
serve, that these angular lines mav be considered as

,88 ELEMENTS OF

a kind of bars in tlie musick of spcakint^ : each of
them contain a certain portion of either the ribing or
falling inflection ; but though every word in each
line is pronounced with the same inflection, they are
not all pronounced with the same force ; no line can
have more than one accented or emphatick syllable in
it, and the rest, though preserving the same inflec-
tion, abate of tlic force of sound.

With respect to tlie relative force of these unem-
phatick words, see Introduction to the Theory of Em^
pliasis.

Utility of a Knowledge of the Infections of the «
Voice.

But it will be demanded : suppose we could con-
ceive the nature of these inflections ever so cleiu'ly,
of what use will it be ? I answer, that as the sense
and harmony of a sentence depend so much on the
proper application of these inflections, it will be of
infinite use to an indifierent reader to know how a
good reader applies them.

It will, perhaps, be objected, that an attention
to these inflections, marked upon paper, will be apt
to cm]>iUTass the mind of the reader, which should
be v/holly employed on the sense of the \vTiter.
To this oi)jection it may be answered, that the very
same argument will lie against the use of pauses in
printing; and the ancient Greek method of writing
without any iiUcr\'uls between words, will, accord-
ing to this reasoning, be by far the most eligii:)le.
The truih is, every thing new embaiTusses ; and if
we kive alread}' accjuired an ait in an imperfect way,
the means of facilitating a more perfect acquisition
of it, will at first retard oui' progress : if a child has
once learned to read tolerably, without liaving, thtj

ELOCUTION. 89

words divided into syllables, such a division will ap-
pear new and embari'assing to him ; and though syl-
labication is so confessedly useful to learners, those
who can once read without it, would be ratlier puz-
zled than assisted by it. To those, therefore, who
already read well, this system of inflections is not ad-
dressed. What help do they stand in need of, who
are sufficiently perfect? It is to the learner only, and
he who is in doubt about the best method of reading
a passage, that this assistance is recommended ; and
it may be with confidence asserted, that if such a one
will but bestow half the time to acquire a knowledge
of these inflections that is usually spent in learning
the gamut, he will have no reason to repent his la-
bour.

A ^vant of instructing youth early in the knowl-
edge of inflections, is the great occasion of embar-
rassment in teaching them to read. VVe can tell
them they are too high or too low, too loud or too
soft, too forcible or too feeble, and that they either
pause, or continue the voice in the wrong place : but
we have no way of conveying to them their error, if
they make use of a wrong inflection ; though this
may actually be the case, where they are without
fault in every other particular : that is, there may be
a wrong slide of the voice upon a particular word,
though it is neither pronounced too high nor too
low, too loud nor too soft, too forcibly nor too feebly,
nor with any improper pause or continuation of voice.
Let us suppose, for example, a youth, little instructed
in reading, were to pronounce the following sen-' •
tence :

If we have no regard to our own character, we ought to
have some regard to the character of others.

There is the greatest probability, I say, that such
a reader would pronounce the first emphatick word
12

90 ELEMENTS OF

oxvn with the rising, and the last emphatick word
others with the falling inflection, which by no means
brings out the sense of the sentence to the best ad-
vantage. To tell him he must lay more stress upon
the word own, will by no means set him right, un-
less the kind of stress is conveyed ; for he may in-
crease the stress upon both the emphatick words,
without removing the impropriety. In the same
manner, if in reading the following passage :

Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord ! for ia
thy sight shall no man living be justified.

If, in pronouncing this passage, I say, the reader
neglects placing an emphasis on the last Mt/, it will
be in vain to tell him he ought to lay a stress on that
word, unless we direct him to the kind of stress ;
for though, in the former instance the emphasis with
the falling inflection was the true emphasis on own,
the same emphasis on th?/, in the latter instance,
\^ould utterly destroy the meaning : it is evident,
therefore, if once a youth were taught to distinguish
accurately the rising and falling inflection, how easily
and methodically instruction in reading might be
CO! veyed.

At this point the present treatise might finish ;
and, it is presumed, not without h;ving added some-
thing to the art of reading. A method which conveys
to us some of the essential turns of voice in a good
reader or speaker cannot be without its advantages.

»But something faither is proposed. An attempt
will be made to point out several of those varieties
in the sense and structure of a sentence which severally
demand a particular application of these inflec-
tions ; from a variety of these examples, gen-
eral rules will be drawn, and the whole doctrine of in-

I flections will be reduced into something like a system.
A first essay on an untreated subject can scarcely be

ELOCUTION. 91

exempt from a multitude of inaccuracies ; and ob-
scurity is the natural attendant on novelty : but if any
advantages, however small, are the result of this nov-
elty, the candid and judicious reader who under-
stands the difficulty of the undertaking, will not
think even tliese small advantages entirely unworthy
of his attention.

Practical System of the Inflections of the Voice.

Words adopt particular inflections, either accord-
ing to the particular signification they bear, or as they
are either differently arranged or connected with other
words. The first application of inflection relates to em-
phasis, M^hich will be considered at large in its proper
place : the last relates to that application of inflection,
which arises from the division of a sentence, into its
component parts ; and this is the object of punctuation.
Punctuation, or the division of a sentence, has been
already treated in the former part of this work : we
now proceed to apply the doctrine of inflection to
that of punctuation, by she^ving what turns or slides
of voice are most suitable to the several distinctions,
rests, and pause of a sentence. But before any rules for
applyingthe inflections are laid down, perhaps it will be
necessary again to take notice, that though there are
but two simple or radically different inflections, the
rising and failing, yet the latter is divisible into two
kinds of veiy different and even opposite import.
The fcilling inflection without a fall of the voice, or,
in other \\'ords, that inflection of voice which consists
of a doAvnward slide, in a high and forcible tone, may
either be applied to that part of a sentence where a
portion of sense is formed, as at the word unjustly 3
Plate II. No. XX. ; or to that part where no sense is
formed, as at the word temperance^ Plate I. No. VI. ,
but when this dovvn\vard slide is pronounced in a

92 ELEMENTS OF

low^r and less forcible tone than the preceding words,
it indicates not only that the sense, but the sentence is
concluded.

It must be carefully noted, therefore, that whenev-
er the falling inflection is said to be on a word, it is not
meant that this inflection is to be pronounced in a
low and feeble tone, unless the sentence is concluded ;
and that even a perfect sentence is not always to be
pronounced with this inflection in a low tone, will be
shewn hereafter, under the aiticle Final Pause, or
Period.

See a farther explanation of this definition, Plate
III. No. 1. and IV.

The rising inflection is denoted by the acute ac-
cent, thus (').

The falling inflection is denoted by the grave ac-
cent, thus Q),

Compact Sentence.

Direct Period.

Rule I. Every direct period, so constructed as
to have its two principal constructive paits connected
by correspondent conjunctions, requires the long
pause Avith the rising inflection at the end of the first
prmcipal constructive member.

EXAMPLES.

As we cannot discern the shadow moving along the dial-
plate, so the advances we make in knowledge are only per-
ceivable by the distance gone over.

As we perceive the shadow to have moved, but did not per-
ceive it moving ; so our advances in learning, consisting of
insensible steps, are only perceivable by the distance.

As we perceive the shadow to have moved along the dial,
but did not perceive it moving ; and it appears that the grass
has grown, though nobody ever saw it grow ; so the advan-

ELOCUTION. . 93

ces we make in knowledge, as they consist of such minute steps,
are only perceivable by the distance.

Each of these three sentences consists of two prin-
cipal correspondent paits ; the first commencing with
as, and the last with so : as the first member of the
first sentence is simple, it is marked with a comma
only at dial-plate ; as the second is compounded, it
is marked with a semicolon at moving ; and as the
last is decompounded, it is marked with a colon at
grow : this punctuation is according to the general
rules of pausing, and agreeable to good sense ; for it
is certainly proper that the time of the pause should
increase with the increase and complexity of the mem-
bers to which it is annexed, as more time is requir-
ed to comprehend a large and complicated member
than a short and simple one : but whatever may be the
time taken up in pausing at the difierent points, the
inflection annexed to them must always be the
same ; that is, tlie comma, semicolon, and colon,
must invariably have the rising inflection. See
page 76.

The same may be observed of the following sen-
tences : See page 46.

Although 1 fear it may be a shame to be dismayed at the
entrance of my discourse in defence of a most valiant man ;
and that it no ways becomes me, while Milo is more concern-
ed for the safety of the state than for himself, not to show the
same greatness of mind in behalf of him ; yet this new form of
prosecution terrifies my eyes, which, whatever way they turn,
want the ancient custom of the forum, and the former manner
of trials. Cicero's Oration for Mile.

Although, son Marcus, as you have now been a hearer of
Cratippus for a year, and this at Athens, you ought to abound
in the precepts and doctrines of philosophy by reason of the
great character both of your instructor and the city, one of
which can furnish you with knowledge, and the other with
examples ; yet, as I always to my advantage joined the l.iitin
tongue with the Greek, and I have done it not only in oratory.

94 ELEMENTS OF

but likewise in philosophy ; I think you ought to do the same,
thai you may be equally conversant in both languages.

Cicero's Offices, took 1. chap, u

These sentences begin with the concessive con-
junction although, and have their conespondent con-
junction i/et ; cind these conjunctions form the two
principal constructive members. The words him,
and examples, therefore, at the end of the first mem-
bers, must have the rising inflection, and here must
be the long pause.

Rule II. Every direct period, consisting of two
principal constructive parts, and having only tlie first
part commence with a conjunction, requires the ris-
ing inflection and long pause at the end of this part.
-See p. 47.

EXAMPLES.

As in my speculations 1 have endeavoured to extinguish
passion and prejudice, I am still desirous of doing some good
in this particular. Spectator.

Here the sentence divides itself into two corres-
pondent parts at prejudice ; and as the word so is un-
derstood beibre the words I am, they must be pre-
ceded by the long pause and rising inflection.

If impudence prevailed as much in the forum and courts of
justice, as insolence does in the country and places of less re-
sort ; Aulus Caecina would submit as much to the impudence
of Sextus ^butius in this cause, as he did before to his inso-
lence when assaulted by him.

If I have any genius, which I am sensible can be but very
small ; or any readiness in speaking, in which I do not deny
but 1 have been much conversant ; or any skill in oratory, from
an acquaintance with the best arts, to which I confess I have
been always inclined : no one has a better right to demand of
me the fruit of all these things than this Aulus Licinius.

Cicero's Oration for Archias.

If, after surveying the whole earth at once, and the several
planets that lie within its neighbourhood, we contemplate those

ELOCUTION. 95

•wide fields of ether, that reach in height as far as from Saturn
to the fixed stars, and run abroad, almost to an infinitude ; our
imagination finds its capacity filled with so immense a prospect,
and puts itself upon the stretch to comprehend it.

Addison's Spectator i No. 411.

In the first of these examples, the first part of the
sentence ends at resort^ and the second begins at Au-
las Ctscina : in the second sentence, the first part ends
at inclined, and the second begins at no one ; and in
the third the first part ends at infinitude, and the sec-
ond begins at our : betw^een these words, therefore,
in each sentence, must be inserted the long pause and
rising inflection.

All these sentences commence with a conjunction,
and may be said to have a correspondent conjunction
commencing the second part of the sentence, not ex-
pressed, but understood. In the first sentence com-
mencing with if, then is understood at the beginning
of the second part ; the sense of this conjunctive ad-
verb then may be plainly perceived to exist by in-
serting it in the sentence, and observing its suitable-
ness when expressed :

If impudence prevailed as much in the forum and courts of
justice, as insolence does in the country and places of less re-
sort, then Aulus Cjecina would submit as much to the impu-
dence of Sextus iEbutius in this cause, as he did before to his
insolence when assaulted by him.

The same insertion of the word then might be
made in the two last examples commencing with
if, and the same suitableness would appear ; for
tliough correct and animated language tends to sup-
press as much as possible the words that are so im-
plied in the sense as to make it unnecessary to ex-
press them, yet if, when inserted, they are suitable
to the sense, it is a proof that the structure of the
sentence is perfectly the same, whether these super-
fluous words are expressed ornot.

96 ELEMENTS OF

The exception to this rule is, when the emphatical
word in the conditional part of the sentence is in
direct opposition to another word in the conclusion,
and a concession is implied in the former, in order
to strengthen the argument in the latter ; for in this
case the middle of the sentence has the falling, imd
tlie latter member the rising inflection.

EXAMPLES.

If we have no regard for religion in youth, we ought to
have some regard for it in age.

If we have no regard for our own character, we ought to
have some regard for the character of others.

In these examples, we find the words youth, and
awn character^ have the falling inflection, and both
periods end vv-ith the rising inliection ; but if these
sentences had been formed so as to make the latter
member a mere inference from, or consequence of
the former, the general rule would have taken place,
and the first emphatick word \\'ould have had the ris-
ing, and the last the falling inflection.

EXAMPLES.

If we have no regard for religion in youth, we have seldom
any regard for it in age.

If we have no regard for our own character, it can scarce-
ly be expected that we could have any regard for the charac-
ter of others.

Rule III. Direct periods, which commence with
particles of the present and past tense, consist of t\vo
parts ; bet^veen which must be inserted the long
pause and rising inflection.

EXAMPLE.

Having already shoAvn how tlie fancy is affected by the works
•f nature, and afterwards considered in general both the works

ELOCUTION. 97

of nature and of art, how they mutually assist and complete
each other, in forming such scenes and prospects as are most
apt to delight the mind of the beholder ; I shall in this paper
throw together some reflections on that particular art, which
has a more immediate tendency than any other, to produce
those primary pleasures of the imagination, which have hith-
erto been the subject of this discourse. Spect. No. 415.

The sense is suspended in this sentence, till the
word beholder, and here is to be placed the long
pause and rising inflection ; in this place also, it is
evident, the word jioiv might be inserted in perfect
conformity to the sense.

Exception,

When the last word of the first part of these sen-
tences requires the strong emphasis, the falling in-
flection must be used instead of tlie rising.

EXAMPLE.

Hannibal being frequently destitute of money and provis-
ions, with no recruits of strength in case of ill fortune, and no
encouragement even when successful ; it is not to be wondered
at that his affairs began at length to decline.

Goldsmith's Rom. Hut. Vol. i. p. 278.

In this sentence, the phrase even xvhen .successful,
demands the strong emphasis, and must therefore
be pronounced with the falling inflection : it may be
observed likewise, that these sentences are of the
nature of those constructed on conjunctions; as the
last member of this would easily admit of then at
the beginning, to show a kind of condition in the
former, which corresponds with and modifies the
latter.

Inverted Period,

Rule I. Every period, where the first part forms
perfect sense by itself, but is modified or determined
13

98 ELEMENTS OP

in its signification by the latter, has the rising in-
flection and long pause between these parts as in the
direct period. See p. 46.

EXAMPLES.

Gratian very often recommends the fine taste, as the utmost
perfection of an accomplished man.

In this sentence, the first member ending at taste
forms perfect sense, but is qualified by the last :
for Gratian is not said simply to recommend the
fine taste, but to recommend it in a certain way ;
that is, as the utmost perfection of an accomplished
man. The same may be observed of the following
sentence.

Persons of good taste expect to be pleased, at the same time
they are informed.

Here perfect sense is formed at pleased ; but it is
not meant that persons of good taste are pleased in
general, but with reference to the time they are
informed : the words taste and pleased^ therefore, in
these sentences, we must pronounce with the rising
inflection, and accomptui}' this inflection with a pause.
For the sdme reasons, tJie same pause and inflection
must precede the word though in the following ex-
amples :

I can desire to perceive those things that God has prepared
for those that love him, though ihey be such as eye hath not
seen, ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to
conceive. Locke.

The sound of love makps your soft heart afraid,

And guard itself, though but a child invade. Waller.

ELOCUTION. 99

Loose Sentence,

A LOOSE sentence has been shown to consist of a
period, either direct or inverted, and an additional
member which does not modify it ; or, in other
words, a loose sentence is a member containing per*
feet sense by itself, followed by some other member
or members,-which do not restrain or qualify its sig-
nification. I According to this definition, a loose
sentence muSrhave that member wiiich forms periect
sense detached from those that follow, by a long pause
and the fiiUing inflectioiiT? See p. 47.

As, in speaking, the ear seizes every occasion of
varying the tone of voice which the sense will permit ;
so, in reading, we ought as much as possible to imi-
tate the variety of speaking, by taking every oppor-
tunity of altering ihe voice in correspondence widi
the sense : the most general fault of printing, is to
mark those members of loose sentences, which tbrm
periect sense, with a comma, instead of a semicolon,
or colon ; and a similar, as well as the most common
fault of readers, is to suspend ihe Aoice at the end of
these members, and so to run the sense of one
member into another : by this means, the sense is
obscured, and a monoto..y is produced, instead of
that distinctness and vaiiety vv hich arises from pro-
nouncing these members with such an inflection of
voice as mai'ks a certain portion ot perfect sense, not
immediately connected \vrdi what follows ; for as a
member of this kind does not depend for its sense
on the following member, it ought to be pronounced
in such a manner, as to show its independence on
the succeeding member, and its dependence on the
period, as forming but a part of it.

V\\ order to convey precisely the import of these
members, it is necessary to pronounce them with

100 ELEMENTS OF

the falling inflection, without suffering the \ oicc to
fall gradually as at a period ; by which means the
pause becomes different from the mere comma, which
suspends the voice, and marks immediate depend-
ence on what follows ; and. from the period, w hich
marks not only an independence on what folloA\'s,
butan exclusion of whatever may follow, and therefore
drops the voice as at a conclusion. As this inflec- ^
tion is produced by a certain portion of perfect sense, %
which, in some degree, separates the member it falls
on, from those that follow, it may not improperly be
called the disjunctive inflection. An example will
assist us in comprehending this important inflection j,-
in reading :

All superiority and pre-eminence that one man can have
over another, may be reduced to the notion of quality ; which,
considered at large, is either that of fortune, body, or mind :
the first is that which consists in birth, title, or riches ; and is
the most foreign to our natures, and what we can the least
call our own, of any of the three kinds of quality.

Sjjeci. No. 219.

In the first part of this sentence, the falling inflec-
tion takes place on tlie word quality ; for this mem-
ber, we find, contains perfect sense, and the succeed-
ing members are not necessaiily connected with it :
the same inflection takes place in the next member
on the word riches ; which, with respect to the sense
of the member it terminates, and its connection with
the following members, is exactly under the stmie
predicament as the former, though the one is marked
with a comma, and the other with a semicolon,
which is the common punctuation in all the editions
of the Spectator : a \cry little reflection, however,
will shew us the necessity of adopting the same pause
and inflection on both the above-mentioned words,
as this inflection not only marks more precisely the
completeness of sense in the members they termin-

ELOCUTION. 101

ate, but gives a variety to the period, by making the
first, and the succeeding members, end in a difterent
tone of voice ; if wt were to read all the members as
if marked with commas, that is, as if the sense of
the members were absolutely dependent on each oth-
er, the necessity oF attending to this inflection of
voice hi loose sentences would more evidently ap-
pear. This division of a sentence is sometimes,
and ought almost always to be marked with a semi-
colon, as in the following sentence at the word
possess :

E5cAMfLE.

Foolish men are more apt to consider what they have lost,
than what they possess ; and to fix their eyes upon those who
are richer than themselves, rather than on those who are un-
der greater difficulties. Spectator, No. 574.

But though we sometimes find these independent
members of sentences pointed properly by the semi-
colon, we much oftener see them marked only by a
comma ; and thus are they necessarily confounded
with those members which are dependent on the suc-
ceeding member, where a comma is the proper punct-
uation. An a?icl, a rvhich, a where, or any of the
connective words, commencing the succeeding mem-
ber, is a sufficient reason with most printers for point-
ing the preceding member with a comma, even where
these connective words do not qualify the preceding
member, and consequently do not join members to-
gether as they are parts of each other, but as they are
parts of the period ; which is die case in the exam-
ples already produced.

The following examples afford a proof of the neces-
sity of adopting the falling inflection, in order to sep-
arate the first member which contains perfect sense,
from those which follow, let the punctuation be what
it will.

102 ELEMENTS Of

The soul, considered abstractedly from its passions, is of a
remiss and sedentary nature, slow in its resolves, and languish-
ing in its executions. Spectator, No. '2.55.

The faculty (taste,) must in some degree be bom with us,
and it very often happens, that those who have other qualities
in perfection are wholly void of this. <, Ibid. No. 409.

This therefore is a good oflSce, (the planting of trees) which
is suited to the meanest capacities, and which may be perform-
ed by multitudes, who have nntabiiities to deserve well of their
country, and recommend themselves to their posterity by any
other method. Ibid. No. 583.

In these last examples we may observe, that the first
member, which is distinguished by a comma in most
editions of the Spectator, is exactly under the same
predicament with the member of the two former ex-
amples, which is marked with a semicolon ; and
which IS Uiiquestiunably ihe true method of pointing
them : lor tnough, in tiie compact sentence, where
the sense is suspended till the whole is finished, the
semicolon and colon have the rising inflection, as in
examples, p. 74; yet, in ihe loose sentence, these points
are generally accompanied by the falling inflectiouj
as in the last examples : and it must be insisted on,
that unless the line be drawn between such members
as coniuin periect, and suchas contain imperfect sense,
the parts of a sentence cannot be pronounced to tlie
best advantage ; if, by continuing the voice exactly
in ihe same suspense, one thought is run into another
which does not reidly belong to it, the sense must be
injured ; and though the mind is often too well in-
foimed of the subject to be much at a loss for the
sense, let the punctuation be v\hat it will, } et it is
impossible the sense of an author can be readily per-
ceived in its full beauty, when it is obscured by an
erroneous pronunciation of the sentence which con-
veys it.

But though sense is often, harmony is much more
frequently, concerned in a proper use of this disjunc

ELOCUTION. 103

tive inflection. The comma occurs so much often-
er than any other pause, that it is highly important to
harmonious deUvery that it should not be introduced
oftenerthan is necessary ; every good reader, there-
fore, will take frequent opportunities of changing the
comma into the semicolon, as it is chiefly from not
attending to this distinction that the common punctu.
ation is so unfavourable to variety. And if the cor-
rectors of the press, who are generally very intelligent
men, would but adopt this distinction of a period in-
to a compact and loose sentence, and in the latter al-
ways place a semicolon, or colon, where the former
part of the sentence forms perfect sense, and is not
modified by the latter, it is inconceivable how many
errours in reading might be avoided : it must be
o^vned, indeed, that the difficulty of always precisely-
distinguishing between a member, which, by modi-
fying the preceding member, is necessarily connect-
ed with it, and another, which only adds to what pre-
cedes, without modifying the sense, is no small ex-
tenuation of this common errour of printers ; but it
is presumed, that our not being able to do it in diffi-
cult cases is no reason we should neglect it in obvi-
ous ones, and these are sufficiently numerous to be of
the utmost importance to our pronunciation. lOiis
will more evidently appear bv_the-ibUowiug-«iles, on
the usejof tljcfallmg Inflection in^the lr>r>>ip-£eptf>-wp-
Rule L tver)^ member of a sentence forming
consistent sense, and followed by two other members
which do not modify or restrain its signification, ad-
mits of the falling inflection.

EXAMPLES.

In short, to cut ofF all cavi'ling against the ancients, and
particularly those of the warmer climates, who h,ive most heat
and life in their imaeinations, we are to consider that the rule
of oljservinjT what the French ca 1 the bienseance in an al-
Insioo, has been found out of later years, and in the colder

104 ELEMENTS OF

regions of »he world ; where we would make some amends for
our want of force, and spirit, by a scrupulous nicety and ex-
actness in our compositions. Spectator, No. 160.

In this example we see the falling inflection at
world \Qvy properly marked with a semicolon, though
followed by the word where ^ which seems so inti-
mately to connect them ; and Avhich might be shown
in a thousand similar passages, to induce our printers
to mark these members with a comma only.

It is this that recommends variety, where the mind Is every
instant called off to something new, and the attention not suf-
fered to dwell too long on any particular object.

Spectator, No. 412.

For this reason, there is nothing more enlivens a prospect
than rivers, jetteaus, and falls of water, where the scene is
perpetually shifting and entertaining the sight every moment
with something tliat is new. Ibid, No. 4-1 2.

In these instances, though the word water in the
last sentence, and the word variety in the preceding
example, are marked with a comma only, precision,
as well as harmony, require the falling inflection ; the
first member is a kind of text to the whole sentence
and is not so closely connected with the succeeding
members as these last are with each other ; an occa-
sional sense of the propriety of this distinction makes
our printers sometimes point the first member of a
similar sentence with the semicolon.

EXAMPLE.

At a little distance from my friend's house, among the
ruins of an old abbey, there is a long walk of aged elms ;
which are shot up so very high, that when one passes under
them, the rooks and crows that rest upon the tops of them seem
to be cawing in another region. Spectator, No. 110.

Here the first member is very properly pointed
with a semicolon at elmsy and the emphatick pause on
this word gives a precision and variety to the whole

BLOCUTION". 105

atntence ; but as an instance how little the generali-
ty of our punctuists are guided by the sense of the
sentence, we need only produce the period which im-
mediately follows :

I am very much delighted with this sort of noise, which I
consider as a kind of natural prayer to that Beinir who supplies
the wants of his whole creaiion, and who, in the beautiful lan-
guage of the Psalms, feedeth the young ravens that call upon
him. ibid.

In these two last instances, the first part of each
sentence is connected with the succeeding member by
the relative which ; but as this word does not restr; dn
but only explain and extend the meaning of the pre-
ceding member, the latter, like the former, ought to
be marked with the semicolon, and pronounced wi^h
the falling inflection.

Cicero concludes his celehrated books de Oratore with some
pr=>ceptsfor pronunciation and action; without which part, he
affirms, that the best orator in the world can never succeed, and
an indifferent one who is master of this shall gain much greater
applause. Sped. No. 541,

In this instance we find the word action often point-
ed with a comma only, though it is certain that it
ought to be pronounced wiih the falling inflection ;
for as the succeeding word without does not modify
it, and as the next member necessarily requires the
rising inflection at succeed^ the falling inflection on the
word action adds greatly to the precision and variety
of the whole sentence.

Antithetick Member,

When' sentences have two parts corresponding with
each other, so as to fo^m an antithesis, the first
p irt must always terminate with the rbiiiig infiee-
tion.

106 ELEMENTS OF

EXAMPLFS.

We are always complaining our days are few, and acting as
though there should be no end of them. Spectator, No. 93.

I imagined that I was admitted into a long spacious ^-aWerj,
which had one side covered with pieces, < f all the famous paint-
ers who are now Uving ; and the other with the greatest n.as-
ters who are dead. Ibid. No. hS.

The wicked may indeed taste a malignant kind of pleasure,
in those actions to which they are accustomed whilst in this
life ; but when they are removed from all those objects which
are here apt to gratify them, they will naturally become their
own tormentors. Ibid No 447.

The pleasures of the imagination are not so gross as those of
sense, nor so refined as those of theunderstanding. Ibid. No. 411.

In all these examples, the first part of every antithe-
sis might form a perfect sentence by itself ; but the
mutual relation between the former and latter part,
fonns as necessary a connection between them as
if the former part formed no sense by itself, and the
latter part modified and restrained the sense of the
former ; and therefore the wordy^w, in the first ex-
ample, the word sense in the second, the ^^'ord living
in the third, and the words this life in the fourth, must
necessarily adopt the rising inflection. For the same
reason, the same inflection must take place at the
word succeed in the following example :

Cicero concludes his celebrated books de Oratore, with some
precepts for pronunciation and action ; without which part, he
affirms, that the best orator in the world can never succeed,
and an indifferent one, who is master of this, shall gain much
greater applause. Spectator^ No. 541.

Penultimate Member,

An exception to the foregoing- rules forms another
mle, which forbids us, without absolute necessity-, to

ELOCUTION. 107

adopt the falling inflection on the last member but one.
This rule is louaded on the nuturui perception of har-
mony in the ear, which lias as much disUke to a too
great similitude of consecutive sounds, as the under-
standing has to a want ot suificient disiinction be-
tween members difterently connected. When this
distinction, therefore, is suificientiy obvious, and no
improper connection is tbrmcd by using the right in-
flection, the ear always requires this inflection on the
penultimate member ; for, as the last member must
'almost always be terminated by the falling lafleciion
at the period, a falling inflection, immediately pre-
ceding it in tlie penultimate member, would be
too sudden a repetition ol neariy siiV.ilar sounds :
hence arises the propriety of the foiiowing rules.

Rule I. Every member of a sentence, immediately
preceding the last, requires the rising inflection.

EXAMPLES.

Aristotle tells us, that the world is a copy or transcript of
those ideas which are in the mind of the first Being ; and that
those ideas which are in the mind ot man are a transcript of the
world : to this we may add, that words aie the transcript of
those ideas which are in the mind ot" man, and that writing or
prniting is the transcript of words. Sped. iNo. 166.

In this example, if there were no connection be-
tween the two last members from the antithesis they
coimdn, the rising inflection wouid be necessary' at the
end of tlie penultimate member, for the sake of
sound.

In short, a modern Pindarick writer, compared with Pi iar,
is like a sister among the Camisars, comjiared with Virgil's
Sybil ; ihere is the distortion, grimace, and outward figure,
but nothing of chat divine impulse which raises the mind above
itself, and makes the sounds more than human.

Sped. No. 160.

The florist, the planter, the gardener, the husbandman, when
they are accomplishments to the man ot fortune, are great re-

108 ELEMENTS OF

liefs to a country life, and many ways useful to those who are
possessed of them. Jbid. Ko. 9S.

In the first of these examples the sentence mi^ht
have finished at itself, and in the last at l^fe ;
for the sue. etding members do not modify them, but,
a& they aie penultimate members, diey necessarily
require the rising inflection.

He has annexed a secret pleasure to the idea of any thing
that is new or uncommon, that he might encouiage us in the
pursuit after knowledge, and engage us to seaich into the
wonders of his creation ; for every new idea brings such a
p easure along with it as rewards any pains we have taken in
the acquisition, and consequently serves as a motive to put us
upon fresh discoveries. Ibid.^o 413.

In this example, we see that it is not the perfect
sense of a member which alone qualifies it lor the
failing inflection ; it must be follow ed by one mem-
ber, at least, which does not admit this pause ; other-
wise it is transferred from the first to the succeedii;g
member, which is the case in this example. 1 he
first compound member forms perfect sense at the
word knowledge^ and the succeeding member is not
necessarily connected with it : but as this member
forms perfect sense likewise, and is follov\'ed by one,
which cannot be united with it by the comma or ris-
ing inflection ; therefore, to avoid the ill efltct of two
successive pau&es exactly the same, the falling inflec-
tion must be placed on the word creation.

Rule II. As a farther illustration ot this, we may-
observe, that when the first member forms pertect
sense, and is followed by two members necessaiiiy
connected, the falling inflection must be placed on
the first.

It shall ever b^ my study to make discoveries of this nature
in huoidu life, and to settle the proper distinctitms between die
Tiriue-* aid perfections of miiikind, and those false colours and
reseraoiances of ihem that bhine alike in the eyes of the vugar.

Addison*

SLOCUTIO». 109

In this example, we may observe that the falling
inflection might have been pUicedon the second m^ m-
ber, if the second and third members had not been
necessarily connected by an antithesis ; which shows
that the falling inflection requires the member it is
placed on, not only to h.ive perfect sense independ-
ent on the succeeding member, but at the same time
requires the succeeding member to be dependent on
a third.

Exceptions.

Emphasis, which controls every other rule in read-
ing, forms an exception to this ; which is, that where
an emphatick word is in the first member of a sen-
tence, and the last has no emphatical word, this pe-
nultimate member then termmates with tlie faiiiiig
inflection.

IXAMPLES.

I must therefore desire the reader to remember, that by the
pleasures of the imagination, I meant only such pleasures as
arise originally from sight ; and that I divide these p easures
into two kinds. Sped. No. 411.

In this sentence the word sight is emphatical, and
tlierefore, though in the penultimate number, must
not have the rising, but the failing inflection, as this
is the inflection best suited to the sense of tlie em-
phatick phrase. See article Emphasis.

The person he chanced to see was, to appearance, an old
sordid blind man ; bui upon his following him from place to
p'ace, h.' at last found, by his own confession, that he was Plu-
tus the God of Riches ; and that he was just come out of the
house of a miser. Spectator^ No. 46'1-*

In this sentence the words God of Riches^ as op-
posed to the words old sordid blind man^ are emi^hat-
ical, and, theretore, Uioui^ii in the penultimate mem-

no ELEMENTS OF

ber, require the falling inflection. The same may
be observed of the word most in the follow ing sen-
tence :

If they do not acquiesce in his judgment, which, I think,
never happened above once or twice at most, they appeal to
zne.

In this sentence we find the connection interrupt-
ed, cOid the cadence injured, by giving the fulling in-
flection to the word most ; but if we were to give
this word the rising inflection for the sake of preserv-
ing the cadence and connection, we should lose so
much force as would render this pronunciation less
eligible upon the whole. The author, therefore, is
answerable ibr this incompatibility of the strongest
sense with the best sound, and the reader is reduced
to choose the lesser evil.

The same vai'iance between emphasis and connec-
tion may be observed in the following sentence :

Religious hope does not only bear up the mind under her
tsuflFcrings, but makes her rejoice in them, as they may be
the means of procuring ber the great and ultimate end of all
her hope. Spectator, No. 471.

Here we see the word rejoice^ in opposition to bear
tip the mind, require, from its being emphatical, the
fauiag inflection ; and yet, from its being modified
by what follows, it ought to have the rising.

As a corollary to the former rules, it follows, that
if a loose sentence, having one member forming per-
fect sense, and not modiued by what follows, is suc-
ceeded by another member, which lorms perfect
sense likewise, unmodified by succeeding members;
that as often as members of this kind occur, without
finishing the sentence, they ought to be nicaked with
semicolons, or colons, and pronoimced, like a series,
Avith the failing hiflection.

ELOCUTION. Ill

EXAMPLE.

This persuasion of the truth of the gospel, without the evi-
dence which accompanies it, would not have been so firm and
so durable ; it would not have acquired new force with age :
It wduld not have resisted the torrent of time, and have pass-
ed from age to age to our own days.

In this example a perfect sentence might be form-
ed at durable ; and as it is not modified by what
follows, it ought to have the falling inflection : A
perfect sentence might also be formed at age ; which,
being under the same predicament as the foraner
member, requires the falling inflection likewise : a
sentence in the same manner might be formed at
time ; but as this is the penultimate member, it must
necessarily adopt the rising inflection, according to
the rule laid down in the preceding aiticle.

It may be necessary to observe, that when these
members of sentences marked with a semicolon, or
colon, follow each other in a series, though they must
all have the falling inflection, this inflection must be
pronounced in a higher tone of voice on the second
than on the first, and on the third than on the second;
to prevent the monotony v*hich would otherwise ne-
cessai'ily be the consequence : A series of colons,
therefore, must be considered as a compound series,
and pronounced according to the rules laid down for
the pronunciation of that species of sentence which
will be the subject of the next article.

EXAMPLE.

Natural reason inclines men to mutual converse and society :
It implants in them a strong affection for those who spring
from them : It excites them to form communities, and join in
pub'iick assemblies : And, for these ends, to endeavour to pro-
cure both the necessaries and conveniencies of life. Cicero,

In this sentence the falling inflection in the com-
mon level of the voice is placed on the word society ;

112 ELEMENTS OF

the same inflection, with a little more force, and in a
somewhat higher tone of voice, takes pUice on the
words spring from them ; ai;d the word assemblies
has the same inflection a little increased in force and
height ; this gi-adu jI increase of force and height on
the three first members, gives variety and harmon\ to
the declension of voice on the next member, which
forms the period.

Serws.

As variety Is necessar}^ in the delivery of almost
«ver\' separate portion of a sentence, it must be much
more so where the sentence is so constructed that per-
fectly similar portions succeed each other to a con-
siderable number. If the ear is displeased at the
similar endings of two or three members, which,
though unlike in other respects, are necessari-
Iv connected in sense, how intolerable must it be to
hear a long detail of perfectly similar members, pro-
nounced with exactly the same tone of voice ! The
instinctive taste for harmony in the most undisciplin-
ed ear would be disgusted with such a monotony :
And we find few readers, even among those who are
incapable of diversifying any other species of sen-
tence, that do not endeavour to throw some variety
into an enumeration of many similar particulars. An
attempt to point out the most harmonious and em-
phatick variety, and to reduce it to such rules as may
help to guide us in the most frequent and obvious in-
stances, is one of the principal objects of the present
essay.

Nothing, however, can be more various than the
pronunciation of a series : Almost every different
number of paiticulars requires a diflferent method of
vani'ingtlum ; ai'd even those of precisely the same
number of piuticuiois udnut of a different mode of

ELOCUTION. 113

pronunciation, as the series is either commencing or
concludin!:^, simple or compound ; single or double,
or treble, with many other varieties too complex to be
easily determined : but as enumerating several par-
ticulars of a similar kind, in such a manner as to
convey them more forcibly to the mind, and at the
same time to render them agreeable to the ear ; as
this, I say, is one of the most striking beauties in
reading, it will be necessary to give as clear an idea
as possible of that tone and inflection of voice which
seems so peculiarly adapted to this species of sen-
tence.

In the first place, then, we may observ^e, that when-
ever we enumerate particulars with emphasis, or
more than ordinary precision, we are apt to give
some of the first, at least, such a tone as marks not
only a distinct enumeration but a complete one ; that
is, the voice falls into such a tone as shews each piu*-
ticular article of enumeration to be completed, but
not the whole number ; or, in other words, it is ex-
actly that tone of voice we use, when, in collecting
several particulars into one aggregate, we distinguish
with more than ordinary precision each particulai' from
the other. In the pronunciation of sentences of this
kind, the similar members VvOiiid naturally adopt
the falling inflection ; or that inflection we use on the
words voluntarily, deter minatdy, knozvingly, &;:c.
No. X. XI. XII.' XIII. &c. of the scale of sounds,
Plate II. p. 84 ; which inflection not only distinguishes
and enforces each particular taken separately, but pre-,
serves the idea of a collective whole.

But the nature as well as use of this inflection will,
perhaps, be better understood by recurring to a for-
mer example :

I tell you, though you, though all the world, though an an-
^el from heaven wore to affirm the truth of it, I could not be«
lieve it.

114 ELEMENTS OF

If, instead of adopting the falling inflection nporr
yoii^ worlds and heaven^ we suspend the voice upon
these \\ ords, as we do upon the words voluntarily ^
deterimnately, knon'mgly^ &cc. No. I. II. III. 8ic. or
the words mvoluntunly^ indeterminately^ iinknoiving-
ly, No. X. XI. XII. &c. Plate II. we shall soon per-
ceive the propriety of using the inflection we i\re here
describing, that is^ the same inflection with \^hich
we pronounce the words involuntarily^ indeterminate-
ly. unknowingly^ &;c. No. I. II. III. &c- or the words
volu7itarily, detenninately^ knowingly^ &c. No. X.
XI. XII. &c. Plate II. And first let us My this pas-
sage with the rising inflection on each particular :

I tell you, though you, though all the world, though an
angel from heaven, were to afiirm the truth of it, I could not
bCiieve it.

How tame and insipid is this asseveration, \\\ com-
parison Mith the follow ing manner of delivering it 1
diat is, each particular having the falling inflection :

I tell you, though you, though all the world, though an.
angel from heaven, were to affirm the truth of it, I could not
believe it.

The necessity of adopting this inflection in the
series will be still more apparent, by repeating an-
other passage both with and without it. And first
let us try the example, by pronouncing it with the
voice suspended on everv' member, as the commas
seem to indicate ; that is, with the rising inflection,
as on the words voluntarily^ determinately^ knowingly,
&.C. No. L II. III. &,e. or the words involuntarily ^
indeterminately J unknowingly ^ No. X. XL Xil. &c.
Plate 11.

The descriptive part of this allegory is likewise very strong
and full of sublime ideas ; — the figure of death, the rcgai
crc wn upon his head, his menace of Satan, his advancing to
ihe combat, the outcry at his birlh, are circumstances toO no-

ELOCUTION'. 115

t»le to be passed over in silence, and extremely suitable to this
king of terrours.

No^v let us pronounce each particular of this series
but the last with the fulling inflection, that is, with
the same inflection as on the words hivolimtarily^ in-
determinately^ unknowingly^ &c. or the words volun-
tarily^ deterniinately, knoxvingly, &c. No. X. XI.
Xil. &c. Plate 11. p. 84.

The descriptive part of this allegory is likewise very strong
and full ot sublime ideas ; the fi^xixe of death, the regal crown
upon his head, his menace of SHtan, his advancing to the com-
bat, the outcry at his birth, are circumstances too noble to be
passed over in silence, and extremely suitable to this king of
terrours.

The difference of these two methods of pronounc-
ing this sentence is so obvious as to leave no doubt
to u hich we shall give the preference ; but it may
not be improper to remai'k, that in a series of tliis
kind, unless the languLsge be very emphatical, it is
necessary to give the last article of the series the ris-
ing inflection, as this is the point where the sense be-
gins to form ; and this point, if emphasis forbid not,
always requires the suspension of voice marked by
the rising inflection. See Compact Sentence^ p. 92
and 96.

Thus having given a general idea of this \txy im-
portant figure in reading, it will be necessary to enter
upon that system of rules, ^\ hich is calculated to di-
rect and ascertain the pronunciation of it ; but as
every series requires dift'erent inflections, as it either
commences or concludes a sentence, it may be ne-
cessary to observe, that by the name of a commen-
cing series is meant tliat which begins a sentence,
but does not conclude it ; and that by the name of a
concluding series is meant that v.hich ends the sen-
tence, whether it begin it or not. As a difference of
inflection also takes place upon the several members
of a series, as these members consist of one suigle

116 ELEMENTS OF

word, or more words, it will not, perhaps, be improper
to call the scries whose members contiist of single
words, a simple series ; and thuse whose members
consist of two or more words, a compound scries.
In order, therel'ore, to convey the rules that relate to
this curious and intricate part of reading, it will be
necessary to begin with the most simple combination
of words, though not properly a series.

Simple Series.

Rule I. When two members, consisting of single
words, commence a sentence, the first must have the
falling, and tlie last the rising inflection.

EXAMPLES.
\

Exercise and temperance strengthen the constitution.

The difference of tone which distinguishes the com-
mencing words of this sentence, will be much more
perceptible, if we do but consult explication of Plate
I. page 82.

Rule II. When two members, consisting of single
words, conclude a sentence, as the last must naturally
have the falling inflection, the last but one assumes
the rising inflection.

The constitution is strengthened by exercise and temperance.

This rule is the converse of the former. It must,
however, be observed, that sentences of this kind,
which can scarcely be called a series of particulars,
may, when commencing, assume a diftferent order of
inflections on the first words, when the succeeding
clause does not conclude the sentence. 1 his may
be illustrated by consulting Plate 1. No. III. and
IV. ; where we see exercise and temperance^ when
the next clause concludes the sentence, a^ in No. III.
adopt one order ot inflections ; and the same w ords,

ELOcuTiorr. 117

when the next clause does not conclude, as in No. IV.
adopt a quite opposite order. Not that this order in
No. IV. is absolutely necessar}% as that in No. III. ;
but it may always be adopted when we wish to be
more harmonious and emphatical.

Rule III. When three members of a sentence, con-
sisting of single words, succeed each other in a com-
mencing series, the two last ai'e to be pronounced as
in Rule I. and the first with the falling inflection, in
a somewhat lower tone than the second.

EXAMPLES.

Manufactures, trade, and agriculture, naturally employ more
than nineteen parts of the species in twenty. Spectator, No.l 15.

A man that has a taste for musick, painting, or architect-
ure, is like one that has another sense, when compared with such
as have no relish of those arts. Ibid. No. 93.

In short, a modern Pindarick writer, compared with Pindar,
is like a sister among the Camisars, compared with Virgil's
Sybil ; there is the distortion, grimace, and outward figure,
but nothing of that divine impulse, which raises the mind above
itself, and makes the sounds more than human.

Spectator, No. 160.

Rule IV. When three members of a sentence, con-
sistirjg of single words, succeed each other in a con-
cluding series, the two last are to be pronounced as
in Rule II. and the first with the rising infiection in
a little higher tone than the second.

EXAMPLES.

A modem Pindarick writer, compared with Pindar, is like a
sister among the Camisars compared with Virgil's Sybil ; the
one gives chat divii.e impulse which raises the mind above it-
scif, and makes the sounds more than human, while the other
ab unds with nothing but distortion, grimace, and outward
figure.

It may not be improper to observe, that although
the series of four, whether commencing or conclud

118 ELEMENTS OF

ing, must necessarily have the first and last words in-
flected alike, and the two middle words inflected alike,
yet that the series of three in a concluding member
may, when we are pronouncing with a degree ot" so-
lemnit)', and wish to form a cadence ; in this case, I
say, we not only may, but must pronounce the first
word with the falling, the second with the rising,
and the last with the falling inflection.

Rule V. When four members of a sentence, con-
sisting of single words, succeed each other in a com-
mencing series, andai'e the only series in the sentence,
they may be divided into two equal portions : the first
member of the first portion must be pronounced with
the rising, and the second with the iiilling inflection,
as in Rule II. ; and the two rnembers ot the last por-
tion exactly the reverse, that is, according to Rule I.

EXAMPLES.

Metals, minerals, plants, and meteors, contain a thousand
curious properties, which are as engaging to the iancy as to the
reason. Sptctntor, Iso. 4:^0.

Proofs of the immortality of the soul may justly be drawn
from the nature cf the Supreme Being, whose justice, good-
ness, wisdom, and veracity, are ail concerned in this great pomt.

^p.ctator. No. Ul.

The florist, the planter, the gardener, the hiisbandman, wl:en
they are only accomplishments to the man of fortune, are gieat
reliefs to a country life, and many ways useful to those who
are possesed of them. loid. No. 93.

Rule VI. When four members of a sentence, con-
sisting of single words, succeed each other in a con-
cluding series, a pause may, as in the former rule,
divide them into two equal portions : but they are
to be pronounced with exactly contriiry inflections ;
that is, the two first must be pronounced according
to Rule I. and the two last according to Rule 11.

ELOCUTIoy. 119

EXAMPLES.

There is something very engaging to the fancy as well as
to our reason, in the treatise of metals, minerals, plants, and
meteors. Spectator ^ No. 4-20.

An instance of the variety of inflection with which
a series of four particulars is pronounced, and of the
diversity of inflection which the series requires, as it
is either commencing or concluding, will be greatly
illustrated by the following example :

He who resigns the world, has no temptation to envy, ha-
tred, malice, anger, but is in constant possession of a serene
mind ; he who follows the pleasures of it, which are in their
very nature disappointing, is in constant search of ckre, solici-
tude, remorse, and confusion. Spectatort No. 282,

The first series in this sentence being a commenc-
ing series, is pronounced as in rule V. ; and the last,
as a concluding series, according to rule VI.

I'hese rules might be caiTied to a much greater
length ; but too nice an attentio]i to them, in a long
series, might not only be very dillicult, but give an
air of stifihess to the pronunciation, which would not
be compensated by the propriety . It may be neces-
sary, however, to observe, that; in a long enumeration
of particulars, it would not be improper to divide
them into portions of three ; and if we arc not read-
ing extempore, as it may be called, this division of a
series into portions of three ought to commence from
the end of the scries ; that if it is a commencing, we
may pronounce the last portion as in Rule III. ; and
if it is a concluding series, we may pronounce the last
portion according to the observation annexed to
Rule IV.

Rule VII. When a simple series extends to a con-
siderable length, we may divide it into portions of
three, beginning from the last : if it be a commenc-
ing^ series, pronounce the last three words according

120 ELEMENTS OF

to Rule III. ; and if it be a concluding series, pro-
nounce them according to the observation added to
Rule IV.

Commencing Series.

EXAMPLE.

Love, joy, peace ; long suffering, gentleness, goodness ;
faith, meekness, temperance, are the fruits of the Spirit, and
against such there is no law.

Concluding Series.

EXAMPLE.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace ; long suffering,
gentleness, goodness ; Taith, meekness, temperance : — Ag.iinst
such there is no law. Galatiansy chap. v.

Commencing Series.

EXAMPLE.

Metaphors ; enigmas, mottos, parables ; fables, dreams,
visions ; dramatick writings, burlesque, and all the methods of
allusion, are comprehended in Mr. Locke's definition of wit,
and Mr. Addison's short explanation of it.

Concluding Series.

EXAMPLE.

Mr. Locke's definition of wit, with this short explication,
comprehends most of the species of wit ; as metaphors, enig-
mas, mottos, parables ; fables, dreams, visions ; dramatick
writings, burlesque, and all the methods of allusion.

Speclatory No. 62.

If these observations should appear to haA^e too
much refinement, and to bestOAV more labour on these
passages than is rewarded by the variety produced ;
it must be remembered, that in forming a s} stem, and
pushing its principles to their remotest consequences,

ELOCUTION-. 12.1

— for the sake of shewing the extent of these govern-
ing principles, and giving an air of completeness and
universaHty to the s}'steni adopted, it is often neces-
sary to attend to particulars more curious than useful;
if, however, we consider, that pronouncing these pas -
sages in a perfect monotone would be extremely dis-
gusting, and that some general idea of the variety
they are capable of, may at least give the ear a hint
of a better pronunciation, it will not be thought use-
less that so much pains has been bestowed on this
species of sentence. This consideration may encour-
age us to push our inquiries still farther into this
laborious part of the subject ; as those readers who
are disgusted at it, may easily omit the perusal, and
pass on to something more easy and agreeable.

Compound Series.

Preliminary Observation.

When the members of a series consist of several,
words, or comprehend several distinct members of
sentences, they are under some\vhat different la^vs
from those consisting of single words. In a single
series the ear is chiefly consulted, and the inflections
of voice are so aiTanged as to produce the greatest
variety ; but in a compound series the understanding
takes the lead : For as a number of similar members
of sentences in succession form a sort of climax in
the sense, this climax can be no way pronounced
so forcibly as by adopting the same inflection which
is used for the strong emphasis ; for, by this means,
the sense is not only placed in a more distinct point
of view, but the voice enabled to rise gradually upon
every particular, and thus add to force an agreeable
Niiriety.

122 ELEMENTS OF

In pronouncing the compound series, the same
rule may be given as in the simple series : \^'here the
compound series commences, the falling inflection
takes place on every member but the last ; and when
the series concludes, it may take place on every
member except the last but one. It must be care-
fully noted, likewise, that the second member ought
to be pronounced a little higher, and more forcibly
than the first, the third than the second, and so on ;
for which purpose, if tlie members are numerous, it
is evidently necessary- to pronounce the first member
in so low a tone as to admit of rising gradually on the
same inflection to the last.

Rule I. When two commencing members of a
sentence, each of which consists of more than a sin-
gle word, are in succession, the first member must
terminate with the falling, and the last with the rising
inflection.

EXAMPLE.

Moderate exercise, and habitual temperance, strengthen the
constitution.

In this example, we find the first member, ending
at exercise, pronounced Mith the fiilling, and the
second, at temperance, pronounced with the rising in-
flection.

Rule II. When two successive members, each of
which consists of more than a single v\ ord, conclude
a sentence, the first member is to be prcncunccd with
the rising, and the last v. ith the failing ir.fieclion, or
rather w ith the falling inflection in a lower tone of
voice, called the concluding inflection. See Plate I.
Ko. ill. and IV. p. 83.

EXAMPLE.

Nothing tends more powerfully to strengthen the conbtitu-
tion than moderate exercise and habitual temperance.

EtOCUTIOX. 123

In this example, the first member, at exercise, is
pronounced ' ith the rising inflection, and the lust, at
temperance, with the concluding or falling inflection,
Without force, and in a lower tone of voice than the
preceding words.

Rule III. When three members ofa sentence, each
of which consists of more than a single word, are in
a commencing series, the first member must be pro-
nounced with the falling inflection, the second with
the same inflection, somewhat higher and more forci-
ble, and the third Avith the rising hificction, as in the
lust member, Rule I.

EXAMPLES.

To advise the ignorant, relieve the needy, comfort the
afflicted, are duties that fall in our way almost every day of
our lives. Sped. No 93.

In our country, a man seldom sets up for a poet, without at-
tacking the reputation of ali his brothers in the art. The
ignontuce ot the moderns, the scribblers ot the age, the decay
of poetry, are the topicks of detraction with which he makes
his entrance into the world. Ibid. No. '253.

As the genius of Milton was wonderfully turned to the sub-
lime, his subject is the noblest that couid have entered into the
thoughts of man ; every ihmg that is iruly great and astonish-
ing has a place in it ; the whole system of the intelltctual
World, the chaos and the creation, heaven, earth, and hell, en-
ter into the constitution of his poem. Ibid. No. 315.

Rule IV. When three members ofa sentence, each
of \v Inch consists oi nioi-c thun a single word, are in
a concluding series, the falling inilection can only
faU on the lust member, and the two last are pro-
nounced exactly like the t'.vo concluding members,
Rule 11. '

EXAMPLES.

It was necessary for the world, that arts should be invented
and improved, bowks written and transmitted to posterity,
nations conquered and civilized. Spectator, No. 255.

124 ELEMENTS OF

All Other arts of perpetuating our ideas, except writing ©x
printing, continue but a short time : Statues can last but a few
thousands of years, edidces fewer, and colours still fewer than
edifices. Ibid. No. 166.

Our lives, says Seneca, are spent either in doing nothing at all,
or in doing nothing to the purpose, or in doing nothing that we
ought to do. Sped. No. 93.

If a man would know whether he is possessed of a taste for
fine writing, 1 would have him read over the celebrated works
of antiquity, and be very careful to observe whether he tastes the
distinguishing perfections, or, if 1 may be allowed to call them
so, the specifick qualities of the author he peruses ; whether he
is panicnlarly pleased with Livy for his manner of telling a
story ; with Sallust, for his entering into those internal principles
of action which arise from the characters and manners of
the persons he describes ; or with Taci'us, for his displaying
tliose outward motives of safety and interest, which gave birth
to the whole series of transactions which he refates.

Ibid. No. 409.

It may here be necessary to observe, that if we
doubt of the inflections that are to be given to a very
compound series, the best way to discover them will
be to reduce the series to a few words, and then the
proper inflections will be very perceptible. Suppose,
for instance, \ve contract the series in the last exam-
ple to its radical words, which, for example sake,
let us suppose to be these — whether he is pleased
with Lvvy for his story, Sallust for his characters, or
Tacitus for his motives : w^e shall find, by this trial,
die same radical pronunciation proper both for the
original and the abridgment.

Rule V. When four members of a sentence, each
of which consists of more than a single word, are in
a commencing series, the three first are to be pro-
nounced with the falling inflection.

EXAMPLE.

Labour or exercise ferments the humours, casts them into
their proper chknaeis, throws off redundancies, and helps nature

ILOCUTION. 125

in those secret distributions, without which the body cannot
subsist in its vigour, nor the soul act with cheerfulness

Spectator y No. 115.

Rule VI. When four members of a sentence, each
of which consists of more than a single word, follow
in u concluding series, the two first members only
can have the falling hiflection, and the two last are
to be pronounced like the two concluding members,
Rule II.

EXAMPLE.

Notwithstanding all the pains which Cicero took in the edu-
cation ot his son, history informs us, that young Marcus prov-
ed a mere blockhead ; and that Nature (who, it seems, was
even with the son for her prodigality to the father; rendered
him incapable of improving by all the rules of eloquence, the
precepts of philosophy, his own endeavours, and the most re-
fined conversation in A'thens. Spectator, No. 307.

Rule VII. When five members of a sentence,
each of which contains more than a single word, fol-
low in a commencing series, the four first may be
pronounced with the tailing inflection ; each member
rising above the precednig one, and the last as in
Ruie I.

EXAMPLES.

The descriptive part of this allegory is likewise very strong
and full of sublime ideas. The figure of death, the regal
crown upon his head, his menace of Satan, his advancing to
the combai, the outcry at his birth, are circumstances too no-
ble CO be passed over in silence, and extremely suitable to this
ku)g of terrours. Spectator, No. 310.

Aristotle observes, that the fable of an epick poem should
abound in circumstances that are both credible and astonish-
in-^ : Milton's fable is a master-piece of this nature ; as the war
in Heaven, the condition of the fallen kngels, the state of inno-
cence, the temptation of the serpent, and the fall of man,
thuii.'h ihey ai - very astonishing in themselves, are not only
credible but actual points of faith. Spectator, No. 315.

126 ELEMENTS OF

Rule VIII. When five members of a sentence,
each of which contains more than a single word,
follow in a concluding series, the three first may be
prwiounced with the tailing intiection, and the two
last with the rising and falling iniiection, as in Rule
II.

EXAMPLES*

Though we seem grieved at the shortness of life in general,
we are wishing every period of it al nn end. The minor Jongs
to be at age, then to be a man of business, then to make up an
estate, then to arrive at honours, then to re:ire.

Spectator, No. 93,

There Is no blessing of life comparable to the enjoyment of
a discieet and virtuous friend, ll eases and unioads the nihid,
clears and improves the understanding, engendeis thoughts and
kno vledge, animates virtue md g..)od riiioiacions, and niv-ls
employment for the most vacant hours of die. Spect. No. U3.

The devout man does not only believe but feels there is a
Deity ; he has actual sensations of linn ; hs experience con-
curs with his rciason ; he sees him more and more in all his In-
tercourses with him, and even in this life almost loses his laith
in conviction. Jbid. No. 4G5.

Rule IX. When six members of a sentence, each
of which contains more than a single vyord, follow in
a commencing series, die lirst live may be pronotiac
ed with the toiling infiectioa", every memDcr ri:->i;ig
above the preceding one, and tiie two last meinoers
as in Rule li.

EXAMPLES.

That a man, to whom he was, in a great measure, beholden
for his crown, and even for his life ; a man to wha-n, by ev.. ry
honour and favour, he had endeavoured to express his grati-
tude ; whose brother, the eari of De by, was his own Tather in-
law ; to whom he had even commuted the trust of his person,
by creating him lord chaaibiTiaai ; that a man, enjoy. ng his
foil confidence and affection ; not actuated by any motive of

ELOCUTION. 127

discontent or apprehension ; that this man should engage in a
conspiracy against him, he deemed absolutely faise and incred-
ible. Hume's Hist, of England, Vol I. p. 363.

I would fain ask one of those bigoted infidels, supposing all
the great points of atheism as the casual or eternal formation
of the world, the materiality of a thinking substance, the mor-
tality of the soul, the fortuitous organization of the body, the
motions and gravitation of matter, with the like particulars,
were laid together, and formed into a kind of creed, according
to the opinions of the most celebrated atheists ; I say, supposing
such a creed as this were formed, and imposed upon any one
people in the world, whether it would not require an infinite-
ly greater measure of faith than any set of articles which thejr
so violently oppose. Spectatory No. 168.

Under this nile may be placed that grand and tefr
rible adjuration of Mu.cbeth:

I conjure you by that which you profess
(Howe'er you come to know it) answer me ;
Though you untie the winds and let them fight
Ag linst the churches ; though the yesty waves
Confound and swaliow navigation up ;
Though b'aded corn be lodg'd and trees blown down ;
Though castles topple on their warder's heads ;
Though palaces and pyruinids do slope
Their heads to dieir foiiadations ; though the treasure
or nature's germins tumble altogether,
Ev'n till destruction sicken, answer me
To what I ask you.

Where, by placingthe fallinjnj inflection, without drop-
ping the voice, on each particular, and giving tliis in-
flection adegiee of emphasis, increasing from the first
member to the sixth, we shall fmd the vv^hole climax
w-onderfully enforced and diversified : this was the
method approved and practised by the inimitable
Mr. Garrick ; and though it is possible that a veiy
good actor may vaiy in some particulars from this
rule, and yet pronounce the whole agreeably, it may
with confidence be asserted that no actor can pro-

128 ELEMENTS OF

noiince this passage to so much advantage as by adopt-
ing the inflections laid down in this rule.

Rule X. When six members of a sentence, each
of which consists of more than a single word, succeed
each otlier in a concluding series, the four first may
be pronounced with the falling inflection, each mem-
ber ascending above the preceding, and the two last
as in Rule II.

EXAMPLE.

For if. we interpret the Spectator's words in their literal
meaning, we must suppose that women of the first quality used
to pass away whole mornings at a puppet show ; that they at-
tested their principles by paiches ; that an audience would sit
out an evening to hear a dramatick performance, written in a
language which they did not understand ; that chairs and
flower- pots were introduced as actors on the British stage ; that
a promiscuous assembly of men and women were allowed to
meet at midnight in masks within the verge of the court, with
may improbabiiities of the iike nature. Spectator, No. 102.

Rule XL When seven or more members of a sen-
tence, each of which consists of m.ore tlian a single
word, succeed each other in a commencing scries,
all but the last member may be pronounced with the
falling inflection, each succeeding member rising a-
bove that which precedes it, and the two last mem-
bers as in Rule I.

EXAMPLE.

Nature has laid out all her art in beautifying the face ; she
has touched it with vermilion ; planted in it a double row of
ivory ; made it the seat of smiles and blushes ; lighted it up
and enlivened it with the brightness of the eyes ; hung it on
each side with curious organs of sense ; given it airs and graces
that cannot be described ; and surrounded it with such a flow-
ing shade of hair, as sets all its beauties in the most agreeable
light. Spectator,^Q.9^.

ELOCUTION. 129

Series of Serieses.
Preliminary Observation.

When the members of a series, either from their
similitude or contrariety to each other, fall into pairs
or triplets ; these pairs or triplets, considered as whole
members, are pronounced according to the rules re-
specting those members of a series that consist of
more than a single word ; but the parts of which these
members are composed, ifconsistingof single words,
are pronounced according to those rules w hich relate
to those members that consist of single words, as far
as their subordination to the whole series of members
will permit. Hence arises.

Rule I. When several members of a sentence, con-
sisting of distinct portions of similar or opposite
words in a series, follow in succession, they must be
pronounced singly, according to the number of mem-
bers in each portion, and together, according to the
number of portions in the whole sentence, that the
whole may form one related compound series.

EXAMPLES.

The soul consists of many faculties, as the understanding and
the will, with all the senses both inward and outward ; or, to
speak more philosophically, the soul can exert herself in
many different ways of action : she can understand, will, im-
agine ; see, and hear ; love, and discourse ; and apply herself
to many other like exercises of different kinds and natures

Spectator, No. 600.

The first portion of this series of serieses, she can
understand^ will, imagine, as it cont^iins one complete
portion, may be considered as a concluding series ;
and as it forms but one portion oi a greater series,
it may be considered a^ a commencing one, and
must be pronounced in subserviency to it ; that is,
17

130 SLEMENTS OP

the first and second word must have the rising, and
the last the falling inflection, but without dropping
the voice. The next portion must be pronounced
in a similar manner ; that is, the first m ord with the
rising, and the last with the falling inflection, witli
the voice a little higher and more forcible on the word
hear than on the word imagine : the next portion, be-
ing the last but one, alters its inflections ; the first
word having the falling and the last the rising inflec-
tion, agreeably to the rule laid down in the prelimi-
nary observation to the Compound Series.

On the other hand, those evil spirits, who, by long custom,
have contracted in the body habits of lust and sensuality;
malice and revenge ; an aversion to every thing that is good,
just, and laudable, are naturally seasoned, and prepared for
pain and misery. Spectator, No. ^^7-

As this is a commencing series of serieses, the
last member but one of the second series may be pro-
nounced with the falling inflection at revenge : and
as the last member has a series of three single words,
they come under Rule III. of the Simple Commenc-
ing Series.

The condition, speech, and behaviour of the dying parents ;
with the age, hinccence, and distress of the children, are set
forth in such tender circumstances, that it is impossible for a
reader of common humanity not to be affected with them.

Spectator, No. 85.

These two serieses, containing three members each,
and not concluding the sentence, may be considered
as a concluding and commencing series of three sin-
gle members each, and pronounced as in Rule 111.
of the Simple Series.

His (Satan's) pride, envy, and revenge ; obstinacy, despair,
and impenitence, are all of them very artfully interwoven.

Spectator, No. 303.

ELOCUTION. 13i

Here are two distinct serieses of three members,
each of vvhicii must be pronounced exactly like the
last example, that is, like the concluding and com-
mencing series of three, Rule 111. of the Simple
Series.

The man who lives under an habitual sense of the divine pres-
ence, keeps up a perpetual cheerfulness of temper, and enjoys
every moment the satisfaction of thinking himself in company
with his dearest and best of friends. He no sooner steps out
of the world, but his heart burns with dev6..ion. swells with
hope, and triumphs in the consciousness of that presence which
every where surrounds him ; or on the contrary pours out its
fears, its sorrows, its apprehensions, to the great Supporter of
its existence. Spectatorf No. 93.

This sentence may be considered as a sentence
consisting of two commencing serieses, botli of which
may be pronounced according to Rule III. Com-
pound Series.

How many instances have we (in the fair sex) of chastity,
fidelity, devotion ? How many ladies distinguish themselves by
the education of their children, care of their families, and love
of their husbands : which are the great atchievements of woman
kind; as the making of war, the carrying on of traffick, the
administration of justice, are those by which men grow famous
and get themselves a name i Spectator^ No. 73.

The several serieses in this passage may be consid-
ered as forming one complete observation : the first .
is a concluding series of three^ and may be pronoui^-
ced as the concluding series, Rule IV. in every .
member but the last, which being the first step of
the series of serieses, instead of the concluding in-
flection, adopts the falling inflection only. The next
series may be pronounced in the same manner as the
former, with this difference only, the last member,
being the second step of the series of serieses, ought
to have the falling inflection a little higher on hus-
bands than it was on devotion in the first scries. The

132 ELEMENTS OF

last series has its three members pronounced exactly
like the commencing series, Rule III. ; and thus
every series is pronounced, both according to its own
particular analogy, and that of the thiee taken togeth-
er.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life ; nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers ; nor things present, nor things
to come ;

Nor height, nor depth ; nor any other creature, shall be able
to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord. . Romans, ch. viii. ver. 38, 39.

Upon the first view of this passage, we find it natur-
ally falls into certaindistinctportions of similar or op-
posite words. These portions seem to be five in num-
ber; the first containing two members, deaths life; the
second containing three members, angels^ principali-
ties^ powers ; the third two, things present, things to
come ; the fourth two, height, depth ; the fifth one,
any other creature : these members, if pronounced
at random, and without relation to that order in which
they are placed by the sacred wTiter, lose half their
beauty and eftect ; but if each member is pronounced
with an inflection of voice that corresponds to its sit-
uation in the sentence, the whole series becomes the
most striking and beautiful climax imaginable.

In order, then, to pronounce this passage properly,
it is presumed that there ought to be a gradation of
force from the first portion to the last ; and that this
force may have the greater variety, each portion ought
to be accompanied with a gradation of voice from
low to high ; that each portion also should continue
distinct, every portion but the last should be pronounc-
ed as a simple concluding series, with the falling in-
flection on the last member, enforcing, and not drop-
ping the voice ; the last member, according to the
general rule, must have the rising inflection ; and in

ELOCUTION. 133

this manner of pronouncing it, the whole sentence
liAs its greatest possible force, beauty, and variety.

From the examples which have been adduced, we
have seen in how many instances the force, variety and
harmony of a sentence have been improved by a prop-
er use of the falling inflection. The series in partic-
ular is indebted to this inflection for its greatest force
and beauty. But it is necessary to observe, that this
inflection is not equally adapted to the pronunciation
of every series : where force, precision, or distinction
is necessar}'^, this inflection very happily expresses the
sense of the sentence, and forms an agreeable climax
of sound to the ear ; but where the sense of the sen-
tence does not require this force, precision, or dis-
tinction, (which is but seldom the case,) where the
sentence commences with a conditional or supposi-
tive conjunction, or where the language is plaintive
and poetical, the failing inflection seems less suitable
than the rising : this will be better perceived by a few
examples.

EXAMPLE.

Seeing then that the soul has many different faculties, or in
other words, many different ways (jf acting ; that it can be in-
tensely pleased or made happy by all these different faculties
or ways of acting ; that it may be endowed with several latent
faculties, which it is not at present in a condition to exert ; that
we cannot believe the soul is endowed with any faculty which
is of no use to it ; that whenever any one of these faculties
is transcendently pleased, the soul is in a state of happiness ;
and in the last place, considering that the happiness of another
world is to be the happiness of the whole man ; who can ques-
tion but that there is an infinite variety in those pleasures we
are speaking of ; and that this fulness of joy will be made up
of all those pleasures which the nature of the soul is capable of
receiving ? Sped. No. 600.

As the fourth member of this sentence, from its
very nature, requires the rising inflection, and as the
whole series is constructed on the suppositive con-

134 ELEMENTS OF

junction seeing ; every particular member of it seems
necessiU'iiy to require the rising inflection : for it may
be observed as a pretty general rule, that where a
conditional or a suppositive conjunction commences
tlie series, if there is nothing paiticulariy emphatical
in it, the rising inflection on each particuUir ot the
series is preterable to the falling, especially if the lan-
guage be plaintive and tender.

EXAMPLE.

When the gay and smiling aspect of things has begun to
leave the passages to a man's heart ihus thoughtlessly unguard-
ed ; when kind and caressing looks of every object without,
that can flatter his senses, has conspired with the enemy with-
in, to betray him and put him oflF his defence ; when musick
likewise hath lent her aid, and tried her power upon the pas-
sions ; when the voice of singing men, and the voice of singing
women, with the sound of the viol and the lute, have broke in
upon his soul, and in some tender notes have touched the secret
springs of rapture. — that moment let us dissect and look into
his heart ; — see how vain, how wt.ik, how empty a thing it Is !
Sterne's Sermon on the House of Mournings iifc.

In this example, the plaintive tone which the whole
sentence requires, gives it an air of poetry, and makes
the falling iiiflection too harsh to terminate the sever-
al particulars ; for it may be observed in pausing,
that a series of particulars are as seldom to be pro-
nounced with the falling inflection in poetry, as they
are for the most part to be so pronounced in prose.
The reason of this, perhaps, may be, that, as poetry
assumes so often the ornamental and the plaintive,
where a distinct and emphatick enumeration is not
so much the object as a noble or a tender one ; that
expression which gives the idea of force and familiarity
isnot so suitable to poetry as to prose : as a confirmation
of this we may observe, that when poetry becomes ei-
ther forceful or familiar, the falling inflection is then
properly adopted in the pronunciation of tlie series-

ELOCUTION'. 135

EXAMPLE.

Love in these labyrinths his slaves detains.
And mighty hearts are held in slender chains ;
With hairy springes we the birds betray.
Slight lines of hair surprise the finny prey ;
Fair tresses, man's imperial race ensnare.
And beauty draws us with a single hkir.

Rape of the Lockj Canto ii. ver. 23.

Here the emphasis on each particular requires the
first and second to be pronounced with the falling
inflection, as in Rule VI. of the Compound Se-
ries.

But rhyming poetry so seldom admits of this in-
flection in the series, that the general rule is for a con-
trary pronunciation.

KXAM71E.

So when the faithful pencil has design'd
Some bright idea of the master's mind,
Where a new world leaps out at his command^
And ready nature waits upon his hand ;
When the ripe colours soften and unite,
And sweetly melt into just shade and light ;
When mellowing years their full perfection give.
And each bold figure just begins to live ;
The treacherous colours the fair art betray.
And all the bright creation fades away.

Pope's Essay on Crtt. ver, 484,

In this example we find ever}^ particular, except
the last but one (where the sentence begins to grow
emphatical,) adopt the rising inflection, as more a-
greeable to the pathetick tenor of the passage than the
falling ; and it may be observed, that there are few
passages of this sort in rhyming poetry, of the pa-
thetick or ornamental kind, which do not necessari-
ly require the same inflection.

Thus no objection to the utility of these long laboured
rules has been dissembled. In subjects of this nature

136 ELEMENTS OT

something must always be left to the taste and judgment
of the reader ; but the author flatters himself, if any
thing like a general rule is discovered in a point sup-
posed to be without all rule, that something at least
is added to the common stock of knowledge, which
may in practise be attended with advantage.

What the bishop of London says of improvements
in grammar, may, with the greatest propriety, be
applied to this part of elocution. " A system of this
' kind," says this learned and ingenious writer, "aris-
' ing from the collection and arrangement of a multi-
' tude of minute particulars, which often elude the
' most careful search, and sometimes escape obser-
' vation when they are most obvious, must always
* stand in need of improvement : it is, indeed, the
' necessary condition of every work of human art or
' science, small as well as great, to advance towards
' perfection by slow degrees : by an approximation,
' which, though it may still carry it ibrward, yet
' will certainly never bring it to the point to which it
' tends."

Dr. Loivth's Preface to his Grammar.

The Final Pause or Period.

When a sentence is so far perfectly finished, as
not to be connected in construction with the follow-
ing sentence, it is marked witli a peiiod. This point
is in general so well understood, that itw grammari-
ans liave thought it necessary to give an express ex-
ample of it ; though there are none who have inquir-
ed into punctuation who do not know, that in loose
sentences the period is frequently confounded with
the colon. But though the tone, with which we
conclude a sentence, is generally well understood,
we cannot be too careiul in pronunciation to distin-

ELOCUTION. 137

guish it as much as possible from that member of a
sentence, which contains perfect sense, and is not
necessarily connected with what follows. Such a
member, which may not be improperly ciilled a sen-
tentiola^ or little sentence, requires the falling infiec-
tion, but in a higher tone than the preceding words ;
as if we had only finished a part of what we had to
say, w^hile the period requires the falling inflection in
a lower tone, as if we had nothing more to add. But
this final tone does not only lower the last word ; it
has the same influence on those which more imme-
diately precede the last ; so that the cadence is j^re-
pared by a gradual fall upon the concluding words ;
every word in the latter part of a sentence sliding
gently lo^ver till the voice drops upon the last. See
this more clearly explained. Plates I. and II. This
will more evidently appear upon repeatmg the Ibl-
lowing sentence :

EXAMPLE.

As the word taste arises very often in conversation, I shall
endeavour to give some account of it, and to lay down rules
how we miy know whether we are possessed of it, and how we
may acquire that fine taste in writing which is so much talk-
ed of among the polite world. Spectator ^ No. 407.

We find perfect sense formed at the words account
ofit^ and possessed of it ; but as they do not conclude
tiie sentence, these words, if they adopt the falling
inflection, must be pronounced in a higher tone than
the rest ; while in the last member, not o?ily the word
world is pronounced lower than the rest, but th^
whole member falls gradually into the cadence,
ivhich is so much talked of among the polite world.
And here it will be absolutely necessary to observe,
th ti though the period generally requires the falling
inflection, every period does not necessarily adopt
this inflection in the same tone of voice ; if sentences
18

138 ELEMENTS OF

are intimately connected in sense, though the gram-
matical structure of each may be independent on the
other, they may not improperly be considered as so
many small sentences making one large one, and
thus requiring a pronunciation correspondent to their
logical dependence on each other : hence it may be
laid down as a general rule ; that a series of periods
in regular succession are to be pronounced as eveiy
other series : that is, if they follow each other re-
gularly as parts of the same observation, they are to
be pronounced as parts, and not as wholes.

EXAMPLES.

Some men cannot discern between a noble and a mean ac-
tion. Others are apt to attribute them to some false end or
intention, and others purposely misrepresent or put a wrong
interpretation on them. Sped. No. 255.

Though the first part of this passage is marked with
a period in all the editions of the Spectator I have
seen, nothing can be plainer than that it ought to be
pronounced as the first member of the concluding
series of three compound members. See article
Compound Series y Rule IV.

Thus although the whole of life is allowed by every one to
be short, the several divisions of it appear )ong and tedious.
We are for lengthening our span in general, but would fain
contract the parts of which it is composed. The usurer would
be very well satisfied to have all the time annihilated, that
lies between the present moment and next quarter-day. The
politician would be contented to lose three years in his life,
could he place things in the posture, which he fancies they will
stand in, after such a revolution of time. The lover would be
glad to strike out of his existence all the moments that are to
pass away before the happy meeting. Thus as fast as our time
runs, we should be very glad in most part of our lives, that it
ran much faster than it does. Spectator, No. 93.

Though here are no less than six periods in this
passage, and every one of them requires the falling

ELOCUTION'. 13@

inflection, yet every one of them ought to be pro-
nounced in a somewhat different pitch of voice from
the other ; and tor this purpose they may be consider-
ed as a concluding series of compound members ;
the last period of which must conclude with a lower
tone 0-' voice than the preceding, that there may be a
gradation. See Compound Series, Rule IV.

To these observations this may be subjoined, that
the period, though generally, does not always, re-
quire the falling inflection and a lower tone of voice.
The first and most genei^al exception to the rule is
the following :

Exception I.

When a sentence concludes an antithesis, the first
branch of which requires the strong emphasis, and
therefore demands the falling inflection ; the second
branch requires the weak emphasis, and rising inflec-
tion : and, consequently, if this latter branch of the
antithesis finish the sentence, it must finish without
dropping the voice, that the inflections on the opposite
parts of the antithesis may be different. See Em-
phasis.

EXAMPLES.

If we have no regard for our own character, we ought to
have some regard for the character of others.

If content cannot remove the disquietudes of mankind, it
will at least alleviate them.

I would have your papers consist also of all things which
may be necessary or useful to any part of society ; and the
mechanick arts should have their place as well as the liberal.

Spectator, No. 4-28.

In the first of these examples, a concession is made
in the strongest terms in the supposition, for the sake
of strengthening the assertion in the conclusion, and

140 ELEMENTS OF

therefore neither can be pronounced with due force
but by giving ozvn the falling and others the rising
inflection. There ib almost the same necessity for the
same order of inflections on re?nove and alleviate in the
second example ; and the third would be more forci-
bly pronounced with the falling inflection on wcc/zr/;??cA:
arts, and the rising on liberal, unless it were to con-
clude a paragraph or branch of a subject ; for in this
case, if the sense does not necessarily require the ris-
iui^ iiitiL-ction, the e^r will always expect the falling.
Sc * Penultimate Member.

To this Exception may be added another, which
forms a rule of ver}' great extent ; and that is, where
the last member of a sentence is a negative, in oppo-
sition to some affirmative, either expressed or under-
stood ; but this rule is so allied to emphasis, that the
reader is referred to that article, where he will find
it fully explained and illustrated.

Interrogation.

"But besides the points which mark the pauses in
*' discourse," says Dr. Lowth, " there are others
" which denote a different modulation of the voice
** in correspondence with the sense. The interroga-
** tion and exclamation points," says the learned bish-
op, " are sufficiently explained by their names ; they
*' are indeterminate as to their quantity or time, and
" may be equivalent in that respect to a semicolon, a
*' colon, or a period, as the sense requires ; they
*' mark an elevation of voice." This is, perhaps, as
just an account of these points as could have been
given in so few words ; but, like every general rule
that has been hitherto given, leaves us in a thousand
diflScuities when we would reduce it to practice.
Whatever may be the variety of time we annex to

ELOCUTION. 141

the interrogation, certain it is, that there is no cir-
cmnstancc in reading or speaking which admits of
a greater variety of tone ; a question may imply so
many different degrees of doubt, and is liable to so
many alterations from a diversity of intention in the
speaker, that I shall at present content myself with
pointing out a few of the most obvious ; and endeav-
our to distinguish and reduce them to certain class-
es, that they may be applied to particular examples,
and rendered useful.

The most obvious distinction between interroga-
tive and other sentences is, that as, in other senten-
ces, the substantive or pronoun precedes the verb it
governs, in an interrogative sentence, the verb, either
auxiliary or principal, ought always to precede either
the substantive or pronoun. Thus, when I speak
declaratively, I say I am going to college; but when
I speak interrogatively, I say. Are yon going to col-
lege ? where we may observe, that in the declarative
and inteiTogative sentences, the pronoun and the verb
hold different places.

This inversion of tlie common order of the words
in composition is accompanied by a similar inver-
sion of die inflection of voice in pronunciation ; for
as the common order of inflectioiis jn a declarative
sentence, is thatof placing the risiiig inflection to-
waidsTK middlerand the_fkLling at tliedid, as in the
first example; the^^interrogation inverts" this order,
and uses the falling inflection of voice in the middle
of the sentence, and the rising on the last word, as in
the last example : this peculiaiity, however, does not
extend to every species of inteiTogation ; and inter-
rogative sentences tu-e, in realit}-, so frequently to be
pronounced like declarative sentences, it is scarcely
any wonder that those who do not attend to the deli-
cacies of reading should never use the rising inflec-
tion of the voice on any question : but such force,
spirit, and variety, is tlirowii into a discourse by such

142 Elements of

an alteration of the voice as the question affords, that
those who have the least desire to read \\ cii, ought
never to neglect so favourable an opportunity : a
question terminating with the rising inflection of
voice at once breaks the chain of discourse, grown
heavy by its length, rouses the auditor from the
languor of attending to a continued series of argu-
ment, and excites fresh attention by the shortness,
briskness, and novelty of the address : and if the
greatest masters of composition have thought it neces-
siuy to throw in questions to enliven and enforce
their harangues, those who have the least taste for
the deliver}- of them find it as necessary to atteiid to
the peculiarity of voice this figure requires when they
read.

This inflection Oi" voice, however, which dis-
tinguishes the interrogation, seems entirely confined
totliose questions which are formed without the inter-
rogative pronouns or adverbs. When a question com-
mences with one of these, it has invariably the same
inflection as the declarative sentence, unless we have
either not heard, or mistaken an answer just given
us ; for in that case, the emphasis is placed upon the
interrogative word ; and the voice elevated by the
rising in.^ection on the end of the sentence. Thus,
if \VQ say simply, IVhen do you go to college ? the
word college has the falling inflection, and the voice
is no more elevated than if, being acquainted with the
time, we should say, At that time I find you go to
college: but if we have mistaken the answer that has
been given us concerning the time, we say, JVhen do
you go to college ? we lay a considerable stress upon
the word when, and suspend the voice with the rising
inflection to the end of the sentence.

Again ; if we ask a question without previous con-
versation, or reference to any thing that has passed, if
we do not use the interrogative words, we infaiiibly use
the rising inflection, and elevate the voice on the

ELOCUTION. 143

pnd of the question ; thus we meet, and say, Are
you going to c6llege ? — if we have the least eagerness
lor information, the voice is elevated and supended
with the rising inflection on the last word ; but if the
person we speak to, either does not hear, or else mis-
takes ^v^hat we say, so as to make it necessar}-^ to re-
peat the question, we then adopt the falling inflection
on the last word, and, giving it some degree of em-
phasis, say. Are you going to college ? with the same
inflection of voice, and in nearly the same tone, with
which we should say simply. You are now going to
cdllege ; with this difference only, that in the latter
case the voice falls into a lower tone, and in the for •
mer seems to rest in the tone of the sentence, some-
what louder, perhaps, but with exactly the same falling
inflection as the latter, and entirely different from that
upward turn of voice which distinguishes the first
question.

Thus we find the immediate repetition of the same
question requires a different inflection of voice ac-
cording to its form. When we ask a question com-
mencing with an interrogative word, we use the falling
inflection on the last word ; as, When do you go to
cdllege ? When, from a mistake of the answer about
the lime, we repeat this question, we use the rising
infection of voice, and elevate it to the end ; as,
Whin do you go to college ? On the contrary, when
we first ask a question without the interrogative word,
we use the rising inflection, and raise the voice on the
last \vord ; as. Are you going to college ? and when
we repeat the question, we use the falliijg inflection
of voice on the last word ; and though we may pro-
nounce the last word louder tlian the rest, we do
not use the rising inflection as in the former case
but the falling ; as, I say^ are you going to cdllege ?

But such is the variety of this species of sentence,
that a question may be asked without either the in-
terrogative words, or an in^'ersion of the arrangement.

144. ELEMENTS OF

or the rising inflection of voice on the last word : for
instead of saying, Do you intend to read that book ?
with the rising inflection on the word book^ ^j^e may,
with the same expectation of an answer, use the same
inflection on the same word and say, You intend to
read tliat book ? — Both sentences will be equally in-
terrogator}-, though the last seems distinguished from
the first, by implying less doubt of what we ask ; for
when we say, You intend to read that book ? with
the rising inflection on the word book, A\"e hc^ve not so
much doubt about the reading of it as when we say,
Do you intend to read that book ? v.ilh the same in-
flection on the same word : and accordingly we find
the voice more elevated at the end of the question
•where there is more doubt implied ; and where the
doubt is small, the voice is less elevated at the
end ; though, in both cases, the same kind of in-
flection is inviolably preserved ; for the question — •
You intend to read that book ? with the rising inflec-
tion on the word book, is equivalent to the interroga-
tive affirmation ; / suppose you intend to read that
book ? both of which we find naturalh' terminate in a
suspension of voice, as if an ellipsis had been made,
and part of the question omitted ; for these questions
end in exactly the same inflection of voice which the
same v/ords would have in the question at length — You
intend to read that book, do you not ? — that is, in the
suspension of voice called ihe rising inflection, sim-
ilar to that usually marked by the comma. Not but
this very phrase. You intend to read that book, pro-
nounced wi^i the falling inflection on the last ^\ ord
like a declai^ative sentence, might have the import of
a question, if attended with such circumstances as
implied a doubt in the speaker and required an an-
swer from the hearer : though this mode of speaking
would, perhaps, imply the least degree of doubt pos-
sible, yet as some degree of doubt might be implied,
it must necessarily be classed with the interrogation.

BLOCUTION. 143

Having premised these observations, it may be
necessary to take notice, that w^ith respect to pronun-
ciation, all questions may be divided into two class-
es ; namely, into such as are formed by the inter-
rogative pronouns or adverbs, and into such as are
formed only by an inversion of the corhmon arrange-
ment of the words : the fii-st, with respect to inflec-
tion of voice, except in the cases already mentioned,
may be considered as purely declarative ; and like
deckirative sentences they require the falling inflec-
tion at the end : and the last, with some few excep-
tions, require the rising inflection of voice on the last
w ord ; and it is this rising inflection at the end which
distinguishes them from almost every other species
of sentence. Of both these in their order.

The Question with the Interrogative Words.

Rule I. When an interrogative sentence com-
mences with any of the interrogative pronouns or
adverbs, with respect to inflection, elevation, or de-
pression of voice, it is pronounced exactly like a de^
»t'ClcU^tiA^e sentence.

EXAMPLES.

How can he exalt his thoughts to any thing great and na#
ble, who only believes that after a short turn on the stage o£
this world, he is to sink into oblivion, and to lose his con-
sciousness for ever ? Spectator^ No. 210*

As an illustration of the rule \\c need only alter
two or three of the \vords to reduce it to a deckira-
tive sentence ; and we shall find the inflection, eleva-
tion, and depression of voice on every part of it
the same.
19

146 ELEMENTS OF

He cannot exalt his thoughts to any thing great or noble,
because he only believes thai after a short turn on the stage
of this world, he is to sink into oblivion, and to lose his con-
sciousness for ever.

Here we perceive, that the two sentences, though
one is an interrogation, and the other a declaration,
end both with the same inflection of voice, and that
the falling inflection j but if we convert these Avords
into an interrogation, by leaving out the interroga-
tive word, we shall soon perceive the difference.

Can he exalt his thoughts to any thing great or noble, who
only believes that after a short turn on the stage of this world
he is to sink into oblivion and to lose his consciousness for
ever ?

In pronouncing this sentence with propriety we
find the voice slide upwards on the last words, con-
trary to the inflection it takes in the two former ex-
amples. If grammarians, therefore, by the eleva-
tion of voice, which they attribute to the question,
mean the rising inflection, their rule with some few
exceptions, is true only of questions formed without
the interrogative words ; for the others, though they
may have a force and loudness on the last words, if
they happen to be emphatical, have no more of that
distinctive inflection which is peculiar to the former
kind of interrogation, than if they were no questions
at all. Let us take another example : JFhy should
not a female character he as ridiculous in a man, as a
male character in one of the female sex ? Here the
voice is no more elevated at the end than if I were to
say, A female character is just as ridiculous in a fnan
as a male ciuiracter in one of the female sex : but if
I s'.y, Is not a female character as ridiculous in a man
as a male character in one of the female sex ? Here
not only the emphasis, but the rising inflection, is on
the lust words i essentially diflerent from the inflec--

ELOCITTION. 147

tion on these words in the first question, TVhy should
not a female character be as ridiculous in a man, as a
male character in one of the female sex? We may
pix,siimc, therefore, that it is the emphasis, with
which these questions sometimes termhiate, that has
led the generality of grammarians to conclude, that
all questions terminate in an elevation of voice, and
so to confound that essential difference there is be-
t\veen a question formed with and without the inter-
rogiitive words.

Rule II. Interrogative sentences commencing with

inten ogative words, and consisting of members in a

series depending necessarily on each other for sense,

are to be pronounced as a series of members, of the

Ifeime kind, in a declarative sentence.

EXAMPLES.

From whence can he produce such cogent exhortations to
the practice of every virtue, such ardent excitements to piety
and devotion, and such assistance to attain them, as those which
are to be met with throughout every page of these inimitable
writings ? „ Jenyns's View of the Internal Evid. p. 41,

Where, amidst the dark clouds of pagan philosophy, can he
shew us such a clear prospect of a future sthte, the immortal-
ity of the soul, the ^resurrection of the dead, and the general
judgment, as in St. Paul's iirst Epistle to the Corinthians ?

Ih'td. p. 40.

But to consider the ParadiseLost only as it regards our pres-
ent subject ; what can be conceived greater than the battle
of angels, the majesty of Messiah, the stature and behaviour of
Satan and his peers ? what more beautiful than Pandaemoni-
um. Paradise, Heaven, A'ngels, A dam, and E^ve ? what
more strange than the creation of the world, the several meta-
m<nphoses of the fallen angels, and the surprising adventures
their leader meets v/ith in his search after paradise ?

Sjtctaior, No. 418.

In these sentences we find exactly the same paus-
es and inflections of voice take place its in the differ-

148 ELEMENTS OF

ent series of declarative sentences ; that is, the first
example is to be pronounced as in Rule III. of the
Compound Series, p. 123 ; the second as in Rule
V. p. 124 ; and the last example, being a Series of
Serieses, must be pronounced according to the rules
laid down under that article, p. 129.

But the question, which in reading and speaking
produces the greatest force and variety, is that which
13 formed without the interrogative words.

The Question -without the Interrogative JFords.

Rule I. When interrogative sentences are formecL
without the interrogative words, the last word must
have the rising inflection. If there be an emphatical
word in the last member, followed by several words
depending on it, which conclude the sentence, both
the emphatical word and the concluding words are to
be pronounced with the rising inflection : thus the
words making one ^ 2i\\6. cause of the shipwreck^ in the
two following examples, have all the rising inflection.

EXAMPLES.

Would it not employ a beau prettily erfough if, instead of
eternally playing with his snuff-box, he spent some pan of Ins
time in making one ? Spectator, No. 43.

If the owner of a vessel had fitted it out with every thing
necessary and provided to the utmost of his power, against
the dangers of the sea, and hat a storm should afterwards
arise and break the masts, would any one in that case accuse
him of being the cause of the shipwreck ?

Demosthenes on the Crotun. Roll'm.

In these examples, we find, that, however vari-
ously th^ voice may employ itself on the rest of the
sentence, the concluding words in the last member
must necessai'iiy be suspended wida tlie rising infleC'

ELOCUTION. 149

tion : the only exception to this rule is, ^vhen these
interrogative sentences are connected b}' the disjunc-
tive or ; for m that case the sentence or sentences
that succeed the conjunction are pronounced as if
they were formed by the interrogative words, or were
merely declarative.

Rule II. When interrogative sentences, connected
by the disjunctive or, succeed each other, the first
ends widi the rising and the rest with the falling in-
flection.

EXAMPLES.

Shall we in your person crown the author of the publick ca-
lamities, or shall we destroy him ?

Mschtnes on the Crown. Rollin.

Is the goodness, or wisdom of the divine Being, more man-
ifested in this his proceeding ? Sped. No. 519.

But should these credulous infidels afrer all be in the right,
and this pretended revelation be all a fable, from believing it
what harm could ensue ? Would it render princes more ty-
rannical, or subjects more ungovernable ? The rich more in-
solent, or the po( r more disorderly ? — Would it make worse
parents or children ; husbands or wives ; masters or servants ;
frit nds or neighbours ; or would it not make men more virtu-
ous, and, consequently, more happy in every situation ?

Jmyns's View of the internal Evidence., ■^. 107-

In the two former of these examples, we find the
disjunctive or necessarily direct the voice in the last
m^ I'.iOei ol each to the falling inflection; and in the
tlnrd example, we have not only an instance of the
diversity of voice on the several questions according
to dieir form, but an illustration of the exception
foinied by the conjunctive or ; for in the former
p-.rt oi" this passage, where it is used conjunctively,
it does not occasion any more alteration of the voice
on die word tnsue than any other conjunctive word ;
bu- whcii Uhcd disjunctivciy, as in the last member
oi die (]uesuon commencing at — or would it not make

15^ ELEMENTS OF

men more virtuous, &c. — we find it very prop>erly
chiinge the tone of voice from the interrogative to
the declarative ; that is, from the rising to the fall-
ing inflection.

Rule III. Interrogative sentences without inter-
rogative words, when consisting of a variety of mem-
bers necessarily depending on each other for*sense,
adrnit of every tone, pause, and inflection of voice^
common to other sentences, provided the last mem-
ber, on which the whole question depends, has that
peculiar elevation and inflection of voice which dis-
tinguishes this species of interrogation.

EXAMPLE.

But can we believe a thinking being, that is in a perpetual
progress of improvements, and travelling on from perfection to
perfection, after having just looked abroad into the works of
its Creator, and made a few discoveries of his infinite goodness,
wisdom, and power, must perish at her first setting out, and in
the very beginning of her inquiries ?

Spectator, No. 111.

In reading this passage we shall find, that placing
the falling inflection without dropping the voice on
the words hiiprovements and Creator, will not only
prevent the monotony which is apt to arise from too
long a suspension of the voice, but enforce the sense
by enumerating, as it were, the sevei-al particulai's of
whicli the ciuestion consists.

EXAMPLE.

Do you think that Themistocles, and the heroes who were
killed in the battles of Marathon and Platea ; do you think the
very tombs of your ancestors will not send forth groans, if you
crown a man, who, by his own confession, has been for ever
conspiring with barbarians to ruin Greece ?

JEscb'tnes on the Crown. Rollin.

This passage will be rendered much more forci-
ble iuid harmonious, if, instead of suspending the

ELOCUTION. 151

voice throughout, we make use of the falling inflec-
tion, without dropping the voice on tlie words P la-
tea and confession.

Rule IV. Interrogative sentences, formed without
the interrogative words, and consisting of members
in a series, which foim perfect sense as they pro-
ceed, must have everj^ member terminate with the in-
flection of voice peculiar to this species of interro-
gation. #

EXAMPLES.

And with regard to the unhappy Laced as tnonlans, what
calamities have not befallen them for taking only a small part
of the spoils of the temple ? they who formerly assumed a
superiority over Greece, are they not now going Xp send am-
bassadors to Alexander's coiirt, to bear the name of hostages
in his train, to become a spectacle of misery, to bow the knee
before the monarch, submit themselves and their country to
his mercy, and receive such laws as a conqueror — a conqueror
they attacked first, shall think fit to prescribe them ?

JEschines on the ^oivn. RoUin.

It need scarcely be observed, that, in order to
prevent the monoton}" to which this passage is very
liable in reading, we ought to begin the first questioa
as soft its possible, that ihc voice may pronounce theiu
all with an increasing force to the last.

But did you, O — (what title shall I give you ! ) did you be-
tray the least shadow of displeasure against me, when I broke
the chords of that harmony in your presence, and dispossessed
the commonwealth of the advantages of that confederacy, which
you magnify so much with the loudest strains of your theatrical
voice ? did you ascend the rostrum ? did you denounce, or once
explain those crimes, with which you are now pleased to charge
me ? Demosthenes on the Crown. RoUin*

In this and the preceding sentence, we shall find
the ear relieved, and the sense greatly enforced, by
placing the falling inflection \^ith emphasis in a high
tone of voice on the words conqueror, Jirst, and ex-
plauu according to Rule 111.

152 ELEMENTS OF

Would an infinitely wise Being make such glorious beings
for so mcrin a purpose ? can he delight in the production of such
abortive intelligence, such short-lived reasonable beings ? would
he give us talents that are not to be exerted, capacities that are
not to be gratified ? Spectator, No. HI.

In the reading of every series here produced, it will
be necessary to increase the force at the same time that
we preserve the rising inflection on the last word or
member of ever}^ one.

One exception to this rule is, when a series of
questions and answers follow each other : for in
this case, though the first is elevated as in other in-
terrogations, not commencing with interrogative
words, the rest of the questions assume the declara-
tive tone, and fall gradually into a period.

EXAMPLE.

As for the particular occasion of these (charity) schools,
there cannot any offer more worthy a generous mind. Would
you do a handsome thing without return ? — do it for an infant
that is not sensible of the obligation. Would you do it for
the publick good ? — do it for one who will be an honest ar-
tificer. Would you do it for the sake of heaven ? — give it for
one who shall be instructed in the worship of Him for whose
sake you gave it. Spectator, No. 294'.

In this example there is evidently an opposition
in the interrogations which is equivalent to the dis-
junctive or ; and if the ellipsis were supplied, which
this opposition suggests, the sentence would run thus :
If you will not do a handsome thing- without return^
would you do it for the publick good? and if not for
the publick good^ would ijou do it for the sake of hea-
ven ? so that this exception may be said to come un-
der Rule II. of this article.

Tliis rule may tlirow a light upon a passage in
Shakespeare, very difficult to pronounce with varie-
ty, if we terminate every question with the rising in-
flection, which, ho'>\'ever, must necessarily be the
case as the questions do not imply opposition to, or

ELOCUTIOIT. 153

exclusion of each other. The passage referred to is
in Hcnrj^ V. where that monarch, after the discovery
of the conspiracy against him, thus expostulates with
Lord Scroope, who was concerned in it :

Oh how hast thou with jealousy infected
The sweetness of affiance ! show men dutiful ?
Why so didst thou : or seem they grav- and learned ?
Why so didst thou : come they of noble family ?
Why so didst thou : seem they religious ?
Why so didst thou : or are they spare in diet ;
Free from gross passion or of mirth or knger ;
Constant in spirit, not swerving with the blood ;
Garnish'd and deck'd in modest compliment,
Not working with the eye without the ear.
And but in purged judgment trusting neither ?
Such and so finely boulted didst thou seem.

In pronouncing this passage, it should seem most
eligible to use the rising inflection at the end of the
several questions : but after the four first, the falling
inflection seems very properly adopted on the word
diet^ as this is the first branch of the last series of
questions ; and as this series continues for several
lines, provided the voice be but inflected upwards
on the last member at neither, the rest of the parts
may be, pronounced as is most suitable to the sense
and harmony of the whole, according to Rule III.
of this article.

The necessity of attending to the distinction of in-
flection, when things are distinguished and opposed
to each other, will appear more clearly from the fol*
lowing passage :

See Falkland dies, the virtuous and the just ;

See god-like Turenne prostrate on the dust ;

See Sydney bleeds amid the martial strife ;

Was this their virtue or contempt of life ? Pope.

If, in reading this passage, the voice were to adopt
the same inflection both on virtite and on contempt
20

154 ELEMENTS OF

of life, and to end the last branch of the question
as u'ell as the first with the rising- inflection, the dis-
tinction, so strongly marked by the sense, would be
utterly lost ; whereas, if we end virtue with the ris-
ing, and life with the filling inflection, the distinction
evidently appears. But in the following passage
from Shakespeare we have an instance of the neces-
sity of a contrary mode of pronunciation, arising
from a similitude of objects connected by the dis-
junctive or:

Is this the nature,
Which passion could not shake ? whose solid virtue.
The shot of accidf nt or dart of chance
Could neither raze nor pierce ? Othell<s

In this passage, the shot of accident and the dart
of chance^ being only different words for the same
thin-:^, the word or conjoins them ; and to avoid any
implication that they may mean different things, the
same inflection of voice ought to be on them both,
that is, the rising inflection : but in the last member,
where the opposition is evident, both from the sense
of the words, and the disjunctive nor^ the falling in-
flection ought to be laid on raze, and the rising on
pierce.

For the same reason, in reading the following
stanza of Gray^s Elegy in a Country Church-yaixl,
it should seem by much the most eligible method
to suspend the voice with the rising mflection on th^
AV'ord death :

Can storied urn, or animated bust,

Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath ?

Can Honour's voice provoke the silent dust,
Or Fiatt'ry sooth the dull cold ear of death ?

As the sense of the word or^ that is, whether it
means conjunction or disjunction, is not always very

ELOCUTION. 155

obvious, it may not be useless to propose the follow-
ing rule : if we are in doubt whcthei' or is conjunc-
tive or disjunctive, let us make use of this para-
j)hrcise — If it is not so, is it so ? and if tlie sense will
beai' this paraphrase, tlie or is disjunctive, and the
subsequent question ought to have the falling in-
flection : if it will not bear it, the or is conjunctive,
and the subsequent question ought to have the rising
inflection. Thus if we paraphrase the stanza just
quoted, we shall find the or conjunctive. If storied
urn cannot call back the ^fleeting breath, can animated
dust call tt back F If Honour s voice cannot provoke
the silent dust^ can Flattery sooth the dull cold ear of
death ?

If this paraphrase does not seem suitable to the
general import of the sentence, it is because the ob-
jects are not put in opposition or contradistinction
to each other, and therefore that the or is conjunc-
tive, and, consequently, that tlie latter question re-
quires the rising inflection as well as the former : but
where tlie or is disjunctive, we find this paraphrase
very suitable to the general import of the sentence.
Thus in the following sentence :

But should these credulous infidels after all be in the right,
and ihis pretended revelation be all a fable ; from believing it
what hkrm could ensue ? would it render princes more tyran-
nical, or subjects more ungovernable, the rich more insolent or
the poor more disorderly ? Would it make worse parents, or
children, husbands, or wives ; masters, or servants, friends, or
neighbours I or would it not make men more virtuous, and,
consequently, more happy in every situation ? Jenyns.

If we .try the paraphrase upon the former parts of
this sentence, we shall find it as repug^iant to the
sense as in the former example ; but if we apply it
to the last member, we shall find it perfectly accord
w ith the meaning of the audior. Thus, if we Siiy —
If it xvill not make worse parents or chddren, hus-
bands or wives, masters or servants , friends or neigh-

156 ELEMENTS OF

hours ; will it not make men more virtuous^ and^ con-
sequently^ more happy in every situation ^ — ^iiom
whence we may conclude, that in the former part of
this passage, the or is conjunctive, and suspends the
voice at the end of every member, and that ihe last
or is disjunctive, and requires the sentence to end
with the falling inflection.

In passages of this kind, therefore, it seems quite
necessary- to attend to the distinction of inflection
here laid down : and it mav be fiuther observed,
that the sense of a passage will always be more clear-
ly understood by attendhigto this distinction, though
there may not be always the same necessity for it.
Thus in the following passage :

One great use of prepositions in English, is toexpress those re-
lations, v.'hich in some languages, are chiefly marked by cases,
or the different endings of the noun.

Here, though the word cases ends the penultimate
member, yet, as the last member must have the fall-
ing inflection, the word cases must have the falling
likewise ; for as here the word or is very diflferent from
the or preceded by either in this sentence. Ml lan-
guages express the relations of nouns either by pre-
positions or cases ; so it seems to intimate a diflferent
proMunciation : and as in the last example the words
preposition and cases are opposed to each other, and
for that reason require different inflections ; so, in the
former, a sameness of inflection on both the parts
connected by or, seems better to preserve that same-
ness of idea which each of these parts conveys.

These examples serve to discover a great and nat-
ural source of that variety and precision which we
so much admire in good readers and speakers. So
many more instances might have been produced,
that these remarks might have justly formed a sep-
arate article ; but they seemed to belong more
particularly to the interrogation, as here we view

ELOCUTION. 157

the force of contrast in a stronger H«:ht ; here we see
that though the interrogation, without the interrog-
ative words, necessarily requires the rising inflec-
tion, yet when one part of this interrogation is distinct-
ly opposed to, or contrasted with the other, these
parts require opposite inflections of voice ; and it
may without hesitation, be pronounced, that similar
inflections of voice upon similar members^ or members
in apposition^ and opposite inflections of voice upon op-
posite words, or words opposed to, or contradistin-
guished Jrom each other in sense, are as congenial and
essential to language as the marking of different things
by different words.

And here it were to be wished we could conclude
this article without a mention of those exceptions,
which are so apt to discourage inquirers into tliis
* subject, and induce them to conclude that there is
nothing like rule or method in reiiding or speaking ;
but it ought to be remembered, that though there
are numerous exceptions to almost ever\- rule in
grammar, we. do not from this conclude, that gram-
mar has no rules at all ; in subjects where custom
has so extensive an influence, and where nature
seems to vary expression for the sake of variety, if
such rules can be drawn-out as have » great majority
of instances in their favour, we may ceitainly con-
clude that this, as well as every other department of
language, is not without fixed and settled rules.

That rule which directs us to suspend the voice
with the rising inflection at the end of a question
fo. mod without the interrogative words, is, perhaps,
as general, and as well founded, as any rule in Um-
guage ; but the ear, which is disgusted at too long a
suspension of voice, when the question is drawn out
to a considerable length, often tor the sake of a bet-
ter sound, converts the interrogative into the declar-
ative tone, and concludes a question of this kind
with the tciiling inflection :

158 ELEMENTS OF

Thus there are few readers who would not coQw
elude the following question with tiie iiiiiing intiection.

Do you think that Themistocles and the heroes who were
killed in the battles of Marathon and Platasa, do you think the
very tombs of your ancestors would not send forth groans, if
you crown a man, who, by his own confession, has been for
ever conspiring with barbarians to ruin Greece ?

If this question were considered as entirely de-
tached from the rest of the subject, there is no doubt
but the ear is much more gratified by this, than by
an opposite pronunciation ; but when we reflect,
that by this pronunciation, though the ear is gratifi-
ed, it is at the expense of that peculiar poignancy
which the rising inflection gives to this species of in-
terrogation, we shall be less satisfied with the sacri-
fice vv'e make to sound ; for though sound has its
rights as well as sense, sense seems to have the first
claim, especially in prose, and more particularly in
this case, where the question loses all its iorce and
vigour, unless pronounced with its specifick inflection :
besides, when we consider that in pronouncing a
whole subject to the best advantage, perhcips it is
not necessary that every part should be so pronounc-
ed as to be by itself most agreeable to the ear, we
shall percei\'e that it is possible some parts may be
pronounced less harmoniously as parts, which may
contribute greatly to the energy, Vciriety, and even
harmony of the whole ; as less agreeable passages, and
even discords in musick, are known to add greatly to
the general beauty and effect of a whole composition.

It must, however, be acknowledged, that some
questions are so immoderately long, and, losing sight
of the first object of interrogation, run into such a va-
riety of after- thoughts, that, preserving the idea of
the question all through, and ending it with the ris-
ing inflection, would not only be very diificuit a id
inharmonious, but in some measure prejudicial to the

ELOCUTION. 159

force and energ}' of tlie sense : when this is the case,
changing the rising to the falhng inflection is certain-
ly proper ; iind what fault there is in the want of cor-
respondence between sense and sound, must be plac-
ed to the account of the composition : a reader, like
a musical performer, perhaps, can cover a few blem-
ishes in his author, by the elegance and delicacy of
tlie tones he produces ; but all his art will not ena-
ble him to make bad composition read as well as
. good ; or to make sense and sound accord in the
reading, ^vhen they are at variance in tlic composi-
tion. Thus in the following sentence :

The Brigantines, even under a female leader, had force
enough to burn the enemy's settlements, to storm their camps,
and if success had not introduced negligence and inactivity,
"would have been able entirely to throw off the yoke : And
shall not we, untouched, unsubdued, and struggling, not for
the acquisition, but the continuance of liberty, declare, at the
very first onset, what kind of men Caledonia has reserved for
her defence i

In reading this sentence, we find it difficult to give
it all its necessary force ar.d harmony, and at the
same time pronounce the emphatical word Caledonia,
and the following words, with the rising inflection,,
as the nature of the question seems to demand ; on
the other hand, if we lay the emphasis with the falling
inflection on the word Caledonia, the rising inflection
on resej-ved, and the fiilling on defence y the cadence
will be harmoniously formed, and the sense will ap-
pear greatly enforced ; but as this sense is not the
precise and specifick import of the intenogation, it
must be left to the reader's judgment which mode of
pronunciation he \\ ill adopt.

And here it ma}- be >\ orth observing, that ques-
tions w ithout the interrogative Vvords, elemanding the
rising inflection of voice, are alwi.ys unfavourable to -
luirmony when they end a bnmch of a subject, com-

160 ELEMENTS OF

monly denoted by the paragraph : And that if the
general rule be violated, this position of the question
seems the best apology for it ; as concluding a ques-
tion of this kind with the rising inflection seems to
leaA^e a demand unanswered, and the branch of the
subject imperfect : but if the question does not end
the paragraph, but is either directly answered by the
speaker, or followed by something so immediately
connected with it as to remove the suspense of wait-
ing for an answ er ; if this is the case, I say, let the
train of questions be ever so numerous, it seems
quite necessary to conclude with the rising inflection.

EXAMPLE.

Consider, I beseech you, what was the part of a faithful cit»
izen ? of a prudent, an active, and an honest minister ? Was he
not to secure Euboea as our defence against all attacks by sea ?
Was he not to make Beotia our barrier on the midland side ?
The cities bordering on Peloponnesus our bulwark on that
quarter ? Was he not to attend with due precaution to the im-
portation of corn, that this trade mi^ht be protected through
all its progress up to our own harbours ? Was he not to cover
those districts which we commanded by seasonable detach-
ments, as the Proconesus, the Chersonesus, and Tenedos ? To
exert himself in the assembly for this purpose ? While with
equal zeal he laboured to gain others to our interest and alli-
ance, as Byzantium, Abydus, and Euboea ? Was he not to
cut off the best, and most important resources of our enemies,
and to supply those in which our country was defective ? — And
all this you gained by my counsels and my administration.

Leland^s Demosthenes.

In pronouncing this passage, v.'e find no method
so proper as that of annexing the rising inflection to
every single question ; and as they are not final, but
iire closed by a sentence with the falling inflection,
the whole comes forcibly to the mind and agreea-
bly to the ear, instead of that hiatus, both in sense
and sound, with which the former sentence con-
cludes ^vhen we finish it with tiie rising inflection.

ELOCUTION. 161

It may be observed, likewise, that when questions
are succeeded by answers, it will be necessarj to
raise the voice in the rising inflection on the ques-
tion, and after a considerable pause to pronounce
thf answer in a lower tone of voice, that they may
be the better distinguished from each other.

EXAMPLE.

My departure ts objected to me, which charge I cannot answer
without commending myself For what must I sky ? That I
fled from a consciousness of ^uilt ? But what is charged upon
me as a crime, was so far from being a fault, that it is the
most glorious action since the memory of man. That I feared
being called to an account by the -people ? That was never
talked of ; and if it had been done, I should have come off with
double honour. That I wanted the support of good and hon-
est men ? That is False. That 1 was afraid of death ? That
is a calumny. 1 must, therefore, say what I would not, un-
less compelled to it, that I withdrew to preserve the city.

Ckerot

In pronouncing this passage, we shall find it abso-
lutely necessary, both for the vivacity of the questions,
and to distinguish them from the answers, to pro-
nounce the former in a higher, and the latter in a
lower tone of voice, and to make a very long pause
after each question.

It seems necessar}' only to make one observation
more before we close this article ; and that is, that as
questions of this kind, which demand the rising in-
flection at the end, especially when they are drawn
out to any length, are apt to carry the voice into a
higiier key than is either suitable or pleasant, too much
care cannot be taken to keep the voice down, when
we ai'e pronouncing the former parts of a long ques-
tion, and the commencing questions of a long succes-
sion of questions ; for as the characteristick pro-
nunciation of these questions is, to end with the rising
inflection, provided \e do but termisi ite with this, the
Aoice mav creep on in a low and almost sameness of
'21

162 ELEMENTS OF

tone till the end ; and then if the voice is not agreea-
ble in a high key, which is the case with the generali-
ty of voices, the last word of the whole may be pro-
nouced with the rising inflection, in nearly the same
low key in which the voice commences.

Perhaps it may not be entirely useless to take ndtice
of a very common mistake of printers, which is an-
nexing the note of inten'ogation to such sentences as
are not really interrogative, and which include a
question onl} imperatively. Such are the following :

Presumptuous man ! the reason would'st thou find.
Why form'd so weak, so little, and so blind ?
First, if thou canst, the harder reason guess,
Why form'd no weaker, blinder, and no less.
Ask of thy mother, earth, why oaks are made
Taller or stronger than the weeds they shade ?
Or ask of yonder argent fields above,
Why Jove's satellites are less than Jove ?

Pope's Essay on Marty Ep. i. v. 35.

In this passage we find the first couplet very prop-
erly marked with the note of inteiTOgation, and the
second couplet as properly left without it. But the
third couplet, which is no more a question than the
second, has a note of interrogation annexed to it ; and
the fourth, which is perfectly similar to the third,
is marked with a note of interrogation likewise.

Exchunation.

This note is appropriated by grammarians to in-
dicate that some passion or emotion is contained in
the words to which it is annexed ; and it miiy, there-
fore, be looked upoii as essentially distinct from the
rest of the points ; the office of which is commonly
supposed to l^e tb-it of fixing or determining the
sense only. Whether a point that indicates passion

ELOCUTION. 163

or emotion, without determining what emotion or
passion is meant, or if we had points expressive of
every passion or emotion, whether this would, in
common usage, more assist or embarrass the elocu-
tion of the reader, I shall not at present attempt to de-
cide ; but when this point is applied to sentences
which, from their form, might l^e supposed to be
merely interrogative, and yet really imply wonder,
surprise, or astonishment ; when this use, I say, is
made of the note of exclamation, it must be confessed
to be of no small importance in reading, and veiy
justly to deserve a place in grammatical punctuation.

Thus the sentence, How mysterious are the ways
of Providence ! which naturally adopcs the exclama-
tion, may, by a speaker who denies these mysteries,
become a question, by laying a stress on the word
how^ and subjoining the note of interrogation ; as,
How mysterious are the ways of Providence ? Upon
hearing a piece of musick, we may cry out with rap-
ture, fFfmt harmony is that f or we may use the
words to inquire What harmony is that P that is,
what kind of harmon}-. The very different import,
then, of these sentences, as they are differently point-
ed, sufficiently shew the utility of the note of excla-
mation.

So little, however, is this distinction attended to,
that we seldom see a sentence commencing with the
interrogative words marked with any thing but the
note of interrogation, however distant the meaning
of the sentence may be from doubt or inquiry.

Thus Mr. Addison, speiiking of the necessity of
exercise, says —

The earth must be laboured before it gives its increase ; and

when it is forced into its several pioduccs, how many hands
must they pass through before they are fit fl)r use i

Spectator^ No. 115.

164 ELEMEWTS OF

And this passage, in all the editions of the Sjjec-
tator I have seen, is marked with a note of interroga-
tion. Another writer in the Spectator, speaking of
the grandeur and beauty of heaven, says —

How great must be the majesty of that place, where the
whole an of creation has been employed, and where God has
chosen to show himself in the most magnificent manner ?

Ibid. No. 580.

Instances of this mistake are innumerable ; and
yet it is as clccir as any thing in languag-e, that these
passages ought not to be marked with the interroga-
tion, but with the exclamation point. It may be
urged, indeed, in extenuation of this fault, that the
note of interrogation is not always veiy easy to be
distinguished from the note of exclamation ; and
when this is the case, a mistake is not of any great
importance to the reader ; for we may be sure that
question which may be mistaken for an exclamation,
whatever tone or passion it may demand, can never
require any inflection of voice on the last word, but
that which the question itself requires, which is tiic
falling inflection. It will, however, be necessary to
take notice of an exception to this rule, w^hich is,
when the exclamation comes immediately after a
question, and, as it were, repeats it ; for, in this case,
the repeated question, which is really an exclama-
tion, assumes the rising inflection.

EXAMPLE.

Will you forever, Athenians, do nothing but walk up and
down the city, asking one another, What news ? What news !
Is there any thing more new ihan to see a man of Macedonia
become master of the Athenians, and give laws to all Greece ?

Demosthenes' First* Ph'tUpptck. Rollin,

In this passage we find the first question includ-
ing the last, and, being formed without the interrog-

ELOCUTION. 165

ative words, requires the rising inflection ; and as
the sentence of admiration, What news ! immediate-
ly follows, it exactly imitates the object it ironically
admires. This inflection of the note of admiration
is not confined to the repetition of tliis inflection in
the toregohig tjuestion ; for if a question is asked
with the inteiTogative words, and, consequently, witli
the falling inflection, if we immediately echo the
question, and turn it into an admiration, the voice
necessarily adopts the rising biflection before describ-
ed. Thus when Pope inquires into the pkice wherff
happiness resides, he says —

Plant of celestial seed, if dropp'd below,
Say in what mortal soil thou deign'st to grow :
Fair op'ning to some courts propitious shine,
Or deep with diamonds in the flaming mine ?
Twin'd with the wreaths Parnassian laurels yield,
Or reap'd in iron harvests of" the field ?
Where grows ? where grows not ? if vain our toil,
We ought to blame the culture, not the soil.

Papers Essay on Man, ep. iv.

Here the phrase, where grows, assumes the rising
inflection, and. ought to be marked with the note of
■exclamation.

It may not be entirely useless to tJike notice of a
common errour of grammarians ; which is, that both
this point and the interrogation require an elevation
of voice. The inflection of voice proper to one spe-
cies of question, which, it is probable, grammarians
may ha\'e mistaken i'or an elevation of voice, it is
presumed has been fully cxplayied under that arti-
cle : By the elevation of voice they attribute to this
pomt, it is not unlikely that they mean the patlics or
energy with vv hich we usually express passion or emo-
tion ; but which is, by no means, inscpaiabiy con-
nected v\ ith elevation of voice : \\ ere vve even to
suppose, that ail passion or emotion neccssariiy as-

166 lELEMENTS OF

sumes a louder tone, it must still be acknowledged
this is very different from a higher tone ot voice, and
therefore that the common rule is very fallacious and
inaccurate.
■^^ The truth is, the expression of passion or emotion
consists in giving a distinct and speCificH qualit}' to
the sounds we use, rather than increasing or dimin-
ishing their quantity, or in giving this quantity any
local direction upwards or dowoi wards : Understand-
ing the import of a sentence^ aiid expressing that
^sentence with passion or emotion, are uiings. as dis-
tinct as the head and the heart : This point, therefore,
though useful to distinguish interrogation from emo-
tion, is as different from the rest of the points as
Grammar is from Rhetorick ; and whatever may be
the tone of voice proper to the note of exclamation,
it is ceitain the inflections it requires are exactly the
same as tlie rest of the points ; that is, if the excla-
mation point is placed after a member that would
have tlie rising inflection in another sentence, it ought
to have the rising in this ; if after a member that
would have the falling inflection, tlie exclamation
ought to have the falling inflection likewise ; or if
exclamation is mingled with a question, it requires
the same inflection the question w ould require, unless,
as we have formerly observed, the question with the
interrogative words is an echo of another question of
the same kind, which, in this case, always requires the
rising inflection : And this exception, it may be ob-
served, is perfectly agreeable to the general rule ; for
a repetition of a question of this kind alters its form,
and changes it in eft'ect into a question without the
interrogative word ; as the member, where grows,
in the last example, is equi\'alent to the sentence, Do
you ask where it grows ; an ellipsis in the words,
not altering in tlie least the import of the sentence.

An instance, that the exclamation may be mixed
^vitll mterrogations oi botii kinds, may be seen in the

ELOCUTION. 167

following" speech of Gracchus, quoted by Cicero, and
ijiserted in tKe Spectator, No. 541.

Whither shall I turn ? Wretch that I am ! to what place shall
I betake myself ? Shall I g-o to the Capitol ? alas ! it is over-
flowed with my brother's blood ! or shall I retire to my house ?
yet there ! behold my mother plunged in misery, weeping and
despairing !

EVery distinct portion of this passage may be tru- {
ly said to be an exclartiation ; and yet we find, in /
reading it, though it can scarcely be pronounced with
too much emotion, the inflections of voice are the
same as if pronounced without any emotion at all :
that is, the portion. Whither shall I tum^ terminates
like a question with the interrogative word, with the
falling inflection. The member, Wretch that I am^
like a member forming incomplete sense, with the
rising inflection ; the question, without tMfe interroga-
tive word. Shall I go to the Capitol, with the rising
inflection ; alas ! it is overjlowed with my brother"^ s
bloody with the falling : The question commencing
with the disjunctive or^ or shall I retire to my house ^
with the falling inflection, but in a lower tone of
voice.

Thus we see how vague and indefinite are the gen- i
cral rules for reading this point, for want of distin-
guishing high and low tones of voice from those up-
waid and downward slides, which may be in any
note of the voice, and which, from their radical dif-
ference, form the most marking differences in pro-
aunciation.

Parenthesis.

The parenthesis is defined by our excellent gram-
marian. Dr. Low^h, to be a member of a sentence
inserted in the body of a sentence, which member

168 ELEMENTS OF

is neither necessary to the sense, nor at all affects the
construction. He observes, also, thattin readiiig or
speaking, it ought to have a moderate aepression of
the voice, and a i>ause greater than a comma. This
,is, perhaps, as just a definition of the parenthesis, as
could be given in so few M^ords, and may serve to
regulate our opinion of it when the marks of it in
printing are either omitted or used imprcperlyj; but
several other paiticulars respecting this gi'arrfrnati-
cal note may l:>e remarked, which will tend great-
ly to acquaint us with ihe time nature of it, and
shew us how it may be pronounced to advantage.
And first it may be observed, that the parenthesis
seems to have been much under-rated by the gener-
ality of wTiters on composition, who consider it rath-
er as a blemish tlian an advantage to style, and have
almost entirely prohil^ited the use of it. This, how-
ever, cann* be done without arraigning the taste of
the best Avriters, both ancient and modem, who fre-
quenth make use of this figure of grammar, and of-
ten with great ad^^antage : for though, when used in-
judiciously, it inteiTupts the course of the thought,
and obscures the meaning ; yet sometimes it so hap-
pily conveys a sentiment or stroke of humour, as to
entitle it to no small merit among the grammatical
figures, and to rank it even with tliose of orator} and
eloquence. What, for example, can add greater
force to a pathetick sentiment than a thought rising
up from the fulness of the heart, as it were in the
middle of another sentence ? What can add greater
poignancy to a sally of wit, than conceivir;g it as
springing naturally from the iuxuriancy of the sub-
ject without the least effort or premeditation of the
writer ? Wliat can give such importance to a tran-
sient thought, as producing it in the negligence of
an intervening member ; arid how much is compo-
sition familiarized, and reiideied naiurai and easy,
by the judicious introduction' of these transient un-

ELOCUTION. 169

premeditated thoughts ! This manner of conveying
a thought makes us esteem it the more in propoition
as the author seems to esteem it less ; and if, to this
advantage of the parenthesis, we add that of the con-
ciseness of thought and variety of pronunciation, it
sometimes bestows on the style and cadence of a
sentence, we shall by no means think it a trifling or
insignificant part of composition.

But though the parenthesis has often an excellent
effect both in composition and delivery, yet, whea
it is used too frequently, or extended to too great
a length, it embarrasses the reader, and obscures
rather than illustrates the meaning of the author ;
for which reason we find good writers constantly
avoid a long and complicated parenthesis. The \
best parenthesis, therefore, is the shortest ; for as 1
the main current of the sentence is standing still |
while this intervening member is pronounced, the \
thread of the discourse is broken, and, if discontinued \
too long, is with difficulty taken up again. *

The real nature of the parenthesis once understood,
we are at no loss for the true manner of delivering it.
The tone of voice ought to be interrupted, as it were I
by something unforeseen ; and, after a pause, the pa*.f
renthesis should be pronounced in a lower tone of voice,.;
at the end of which, after another pause, the higher
tone of voice, which was interrupted, should be re- '
sumed, that the connection between the former and;
latter part of the inten-upted sentence may be restored. '
It may be observed, too, that in order to preserve
the integrity of the principal members, the paren-
thesis ought not only to be pronounced in a lower
tone, but a degree s^vifter than the rest of the period,
as this still better preserves the broken sense, and
distinguishes the explanation from the text. For
that this is always the case in conversation, we can.
be under no doubt, when we consider, that whatever
is supposed to make our auditors wait, gives an im-

170 ELEMENTS OF

pulse to the tongue, in order to relieve them as soon
as possible from the suspense of an occasional and
unexpected interruption.

Rule I. The most general rule is, that the paren-
thesis always terminates with that pause and inflection
of voice with which the interrupted part of the sen-
tence that precedes it is marked ; for any closer con-
nection between the parenthesis and the latter, than
between the parenthesis and the former part of the
sentence, would form a fresh member, compounded
of the parenthesis and the latter part, and by this
means leave the former imperfect. Accordingly,
when the member immediately preceding the paren-
thesis ends with imperfect sense, or a comma and the
rising inflection, (which is almost always the case,)
the parenthesis ends with a comma, and the rising
inflection likewise.

EXAMPLE.

Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the
14w, ) that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he
liveth? Rom. vii. 1^

When it ends with perfect sense, generally mark-
ed with a colon, and consequently requires the fall-
ing inflection of voice, (which very stidom happens,)
the parenthesis ends with a colon and falling inflec-
tion also.

EXAMPLE.

Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them
without Violence : for they feared the people, lest they should
have been stoned :) And when they had brought them, they
set them before the council. Acts, v. 26, 27.

But before we proceed to give other examples, it
will be necessary to Uike notice, that though the pause
and inflection, terminating the parenthesis and the
member that precedes it, may be said to be the same,

ELOCUTION* 171

it must still be understood to mean the same only
as far as the difference of tone with which the paren-
thesis is pronounced will permit ; for if the paren-
thesis is to be pronounced in a lower tone than the
principal sentence, which seems universally allowed,
the pause and inflection of voice with which the pa-
renthesis ends, must necessarily be pronounced lower
than the same pauses and inflections terminating the
preceding member : but as this is only like reading
the same sentence in a higher or lower, in a louder or
softer tone, (in all which modes of pronunciation the
pauses and inflections have an exact proportion, and
are called the same, though different in some re-
spects ;) so the higher and lower tone with which
the same pause and inflection are pronounced in and
out of a parenthesis, may be so easily conceived,
that, perhaps, this observation may, by most readers,
be thought superfluous. To resume therefore the
rule :

A parenthesis must be pronounced in a lower
tone of voice, and conclude with the saijie pause and
inflection which terminate the member that immedi-
ately preqedes it.

y* \jy EXAMPLES.

Notwithstanding all this care of Cicero, history informs us,
that Marcus proved a mere blockhead ; and that nature (who
it seems was even with the son for her prodigality to the fa-
ther) rendered him incapable of improving, by all the rules of
eloquence, the precepts of philosophy, his own endeavours, and
the most refined conversation in A^thens. Spectator, No. 307.

Natural historians observe (for whilst I am in the country I
must fetch my allusions from thence) that only male birds
have voices ; that their songs begin a little before breeding,
time, and end a little after. liicf. No. 1 28.

Dr. Clarke has observed, that Homer is more perspicuous
than any otlier author ; but if he is so (which yet may be ques-

172 ELEMENTS OF

tioned) the perspicuity arises from his subject, and not from
the language itself in which he writes.

fp'ard's Grammar, p. 292.

The many letters which come to me from persons of the
best sense in both sexes (for 1 may pronounce their characters
from their way of writing ; do not a little encourage me in the
prosecution of this my undertaking. Spectator, ]^o. 124.

It is this sense which furnishes the imagination with its ideas ;
so that by the pleasures of the imagination or fancy (which I
shall use promiscuously) I here mean such as arise from
visible objects. Ibid. No. 411.

In these examples, we find the parenthesis break
in upon the sense ; but as the interruption is short,
and is also distinguished from the body of the sen-
tence by a different tone of voice, as well as by paus-
es, it does not in the least embarrass it.

But when parentheses are long, which is some-
times the case in prose, and often in poetry, too
much care cannot be taken to read them in so dif-
ferent a tone of voice from the rest of the sentence,
as may keep them perfectly separate and distinct :
this is not only to be done by lowering the voice,
iind pronouncing the parenthesis more rapidly, but
by giving a degi'ee of monotone or sameness to the
voice, which will, perhaps, distinguish the parenthe-
sis, and keep it from mingling with what incloses it
better than any of the other peculiarities. Let us
take a few examples by way of praxis.

Since then every sort of good which is immediately of im-
portance to happiness, must be perceived by some immediate
power or sense, antecedent to any opinions or reasoning, (for
it is the business of reason to compare the several sorts of good
perceived by the several senses, and to find out the proper
means for obtaining them,) we must therefore carefully in-
quire into the several sublimer perceptive powers or senses ;
sipce it is by them we best discover what state or course of

ELOCUTION'; 175

life best answers the intention of God and nature, and wherela
true happiness consists.

Hutcheson's Moral Philosophy^ book i. chap. \. sect. 5.

If sometimes on account of virtue we should be exposed to
such evils, which is sometimes the case (though men are much
more frequently involved by their vices in such evils, and that
in a more shameful base way) virtue can teach us to bear such
evils with resolution, or to conquer them.

Ibid, chap, ii. sect. 11.

And although the diligent and active should not, without
weighty causes, be any way restrained in their just acquisitions :
(and, indeed, the best sorts of democracy may allow them to
'acquire as much as can be requisite for any elegance or pleas-
ure of life that a wise man could desire :) yet we are never to
put in the balance with the liberty or safety of a people, tlie
gratifying the vain ambition, luxury, or avarice of a few.

Jb'icL book iii. ch. vi. sect. 1*

For these reasons, the senate and people of A'thens, (with
due veneration to the gods and heroes, and guardians of the
Athenian city and territory, whose aid they now implore ; and
with due attention to the virtue of their ancestors, to whom
the general liberty of Greece was ever dearer than the partic-
ular interest of their own state) have resolved that a fleet of
two hundred vessels shall be sent to sea, the admiral to cruise
within the streights of Thermopylae.

Leland^s Demosthenes on the Cro'wn.

As to my own abilities in speaking ffor I shall admit this
charge, although experience hath convinced me, that what is
called the power of eloquence depends for the most part upon
the hearers, and that the characters of publick speakers are de-
termined by that degree of favour which you vouchsafe to
each ;) if long practice, I say, hath given me any proficiency in
speaking, you have ever found it devoted to my country.

Ibidem.

In these instances of the parenthesis, it will be
found very difficult to keep the main thread of the
subject entire, unless we distinguish the intervening-
member by a pause, a lower tone of voice, and a
somewhat swifter iuid less varied tone thaji what pre-

174 ILEMENTS O'E

cedes and follows : and we must never forget, that
when tlie parenthesis is pronounced, the voice, ai'ler
a short pause, must recover the higher tone it iell
from, in order to preserve the comiection in the
thought. Without these precautions it will often be
impossible to pronounce Milton so as to make him
intelligible. That sublime and excursive genius is,
like Homer, frequently, by the beauty of an inter-
vening thought, carried so far out of the direct line
of his subject, as to make it impossible for his read-
er to preserve the dii-ect ime, but by distinguishing
those thoughts that vary from it by a different pro-
nunciation. Let us adduce a few examples for prac-
tice.

But what if he our conqueror (whom I now
Of force believe almighty, since no less than such
Could have o'er-power'd s>uch force as ours)
Have left us this our spirit and strength entire
Strongly to suflfer, and support our pains ?

Parad. Lost-, h. I. v. 145.

His spear (to equal which the tallest pine
Hewn on Norwegian hills to be the mast
Of some great admiral were but a wand)
He walk'd with to support uneasy steps
Over the burning marie. Ibid. v. 292»

Know then, that after Lucifer from heav'n
(So call him brighter once amidst the host
Of angels than ihat star the stars among)
Fell with his flaming legions through the deep
Into his place, and the great Son retura'd
Victorious with his saints, th' omnipotent
Eternal Father from his throne beheld
Their multitude, and to his Son thus spake.

Ihtd. book vii. v. 131.

Round he surveys (and well might where he stood
So high above the circling canopy
Of night's extended shade) from eastern point
Of Libra, to the fleecy star that bears
Andromeda far off Atlantick seas
Beyond the horison. Pnd* book iii. ▼. 555.

' i SLOCUTIOK. 175"

They anon
With hundreds and with thousands trooping came
Attended : all access was throng'd ; the gates
And porches wide, but chief the spacious hall
(Though like a cover'd field, where champions bold
Wont ride in arm'd. and at the soldan's chair •k

Defy'd the best of Panim chivalry
To mortal combat, or career with lance)
Thick swarm'd both on the ground, and in the air
Brush'd with the hiss of rustling wings.

Ibid, book i. v. 752.

Under this article, perhaps, may be arranged aside
speeches in dramatick works, and all the intervening
explanatory members in narrative writing : for both
these species of inembers, like the parenthesis, re-
quire both a lower tone of voice, and a more rapid
pronunciation, than the rest of the composition.

It may not, perhaps, be improper to observe, that
the small intervening members, says /, says he, con-
tinued they, &c. not only follow the inflection, but
the tone of the member which precedes them : that
is, if the preceding member breaks off with the ris-
ing inflection, these intervening members are not
pronounced in a lower tone, like other parentheses,
but in a higher and feebler tone of voice than the
rest.

EXAMPLES.

Thus then, said he, since you are so urgent, It Is thus that I
conceive it. The sovereign good is that, the possession of
which renders us happy. And how, said I, do we possess it I
Is it sensual or intellectual I There you are entering, said he,
upon the detail. Harris.

The first intervening member, said he, is pronounc-
ed with the falling inflection somewhat feebler than
the words thus then, wliich have the same inflection :
the next intervening member, said I, has the falling
inflection, in a feebler tone than the word hofiVy which

176 ELEMENTS OF ,

lias the falling inflection likemse ; but said he, in the
next sentence, has the rising inflection like the pre-
ceding word entering, though in a feebler tone of
voice. The same may be observed of the interven-
ing |pember, says one of the frogs, in the following
example :

A company of waggish boys were watching of frogs at the
side of a pond, and still as any of them put up their heads,
tliey would be pelting them down again with stones : " Chil-
dren," (says one of the frogs,) " you never consider, that though
this may be play to you, it is death to us."

U Estrange in Sped. No. 23.

But when the intervening member goes farther
than these simple phrases, they must always be pro-
nounced in a lower tone of voice, and terminate with
the rising inflection.

EXAMPLES.

I had letters from him (here I felt In my pockets) that ex-
actly spoke the Czar's character, which I knew perfectly well.

Spectator, No. 136.

Young master was alive last Whitsuntide, said the coach-
man.— Whitsuntide ! alas ! cried Trim, (extending his right
arm, and falling instantly into the same attitude in which he
read the sermon) — What is Whitsuntide, Jonathan, (for that
was the coachman's name,) or Shrovetide, or any tide or time
past to this ? Are we not here now, continued the corporal,
(striking the end of his stick perpendicularly upon the floor, so as
to give an idea of health and stability,) and are we not (drop*
ping his hat upon the ground) gone in a moment ? Sterne,

In these examples we perceive the pai'enthesis has
a pronunciation much more different from the text
than the small explanatory members, cried Trim, and
continued the Corporal, which, though pronounced
in a different manner from the body of the sentence,
have not so mai'ked a diiference as die parenthesis.

ELOCUTION. 177

♦

Rule II. As the first general rule was, that the pa-
renthesis ought to terminate with the same pause and
inflection of voice as the member that preceded it ;
the next general rule is, that the parenthesis, like the
member immediately preceding it, almost always
terminates with the pause of the comma and the ris-
ing inflection : this has been abundantly exemplified!
in the foregoing instances ; and it will now be neces-
sary to take notice of an exception to this rule, which
is, when the pai^enthesis terminates with an emphat-
ical word which requires the falling inflection ; for in
this case, emphasis requires, that the parenthesis
should terminate with tiie falling instead of the rising
inflection.

EXAMPLE.

Had I, when speaking in the assembly, been absolute antit
independent master of affairs, then your other speakers mighe
call me to account. But if ye were ever present, if ye were all
in general invited to propose your sentiments, if ye were all
agreed that the measures then suggested were really the best ;
if you, ^schines, in particular, were thus persuaded, i^and ie
■was no partial affection for me, that prompted you to give me
up the hopes, the applause, the honours, which attended thaC
course I then advised, but the superiour force of truth, and
your utter inability to point out any more eligible course ;) if
this was the case, I say, is it not highly cruel and unjust to ar-
raign those measures now, when you could not then propose
any better i Leland's Detnost. on the Crown*.

Here the parenthesis finishing with two parts in,
opposition to each other, and the first of them being
negative, and the last positive, the sense necessarily
requires that flffowcr/ should terminate withthe rising,
and eligible course with the fiilling inflection ; but as
the member which immediately precedes the paren-
thesis is emphatical, and takes the falling inflection^
likewise in this case the general rule is not broken.

or!

178 ELEMENTS O^

Cicero, speaking of the duty of magistrate^
says —

Care must be taken that it be not (as was often done by our
ancestors through the smallness of the treasury and continu-
ance of the wars) necessary to raise taxes ; and in order t«
prevent this, provision should be made against it long before-
hand : but if the necessity of this service should happen to any-
state (which I had rather suppose of another than our own ;
nor am I now disc<mrsing of our own, but of every state ia
general) methods must be used to convince all persons (if they
would be secure) that they ought to submit to necessity.

Cicero's Offices .^ book '\\. c. 21*

In this passage are no less than three parentheses ;
the first and last, according to the general rule, end
with the rising inflection : but the middle parenthetick
member ending with two emphatick objects, the last
of which requires the falling inflection, the general
rule must be dispensed with. Why the negative
part of a sentence requires the rising, and the positive
part the falling inflection, see Theory of Emphatick
Injiection.

Before we conclude this article, it may not be im-
proper to take notice of a very erroneous practice
among printers, which is, substituting commas in-
stead of the hooks which mark a parenthesis. Slight
as this fault may appear at first sight, we shall find,
upon reflection, that it is productive of great inconve-
niences ; for if the parenthesis ought to be read in a
lower tone of voice, and these hooks which inclose it
are a mark of this tone, ♦how shall a reader be able to
understand this at sight, if the maiks of the paren-
thesis are taken away, and commas inserted in their
stead ? The difficulty of always deciding, what is a
parenthesis, and what is not, may, perhaps, be some
excuse for confounding it with other intervening
members ; but the absolute necessity of reading a
real parenthesis with its proper tone of voice, makes

ELOCUTION. 17^

It of some importance to distinguish between this
and the incidental member which is often confound-
ed with it. The best rule, therefore, to distin,
giiish the member in question is, not merely to
try if sense remains when it is left out of the sen-
tence, but to see if the member so modifies the pre-
ceding member as to change it from a general to a
particular meaning ; for if this be the case, the mem-
ber, though incidental, is absolutely necessary to the
sense of the whole sentence, and consequently cannot
be a parenthesis. An example will assist us in un-
derstanding this distinction, which is nearly the same
as that which has been taken notice of in the defini-
tion of a sentence, p. 42.

EXAMPLE.

^wfy friend the divine, having been used with words of com-
plaisance, (which he thinks could be properly applied to no man
living, and I thinlc could be only spoken of him, and that in
his absence) was so offended witli the excessive way of speak-
ing civilities among us, that he made a discourse against it at
the club.

The incidental member in this sentence, which, in
€very edition of the Spectator I have seen, is marked
as a parenthesis, is certainly nothing more than an in-
cidental member modifying that which precedes, and
therefore ought to have no fall of the voice in pro-
nouncing it as the parenthesis requires ; for the words
of complaisance are not merely these words in gen-
eral, but such as he thought could be applied to no
one living, &c. ; and consequently this modifying
member ought not to be so detached from that which
it modifies, as to be pronounced in a lower tone of
voice, as this would in some measure injure the
sense.

Thus have we gone tlirough the several pauses
and distinctions of punctuation, and to these pauses-

i8d ELEMENTS OF ELOCUTION.

and distinctions have added such a slide or inflection
of voice as is suited to express them with clearness,
strength, and propriety. Our next attempt must be
to show what pronunciation is required by accent,
emphasis, variety, harmony, and passion : and this
must be the subject of the second part of this
tyork.

ELEMENTS OF ELOCUTION.

PART II.

ACCENT.

A S Accent relates to the pronunciation of words
taken singly, it can have little toMo in an essay on
the pronunciation of words in successionj as Elocu-
tfon, perTiapsTniay not improperly he called j for as
words j ustly pronounced are merely the materials for
deliver}^ these miist all be supposed to be in our own
possession before we can possibly begin to arrange
and display them to advantage. A person who pro-
nounces every word singly with the greatest puritj^
may not be able to read ^vell ; and another may con-
vey the sense of an author with great force and beau-
ty, who does not always cither pronounce the ords
justly, or place the accent on the proper syllable.
The only point, therefore, in which it will be neces^
sary to take notice of accent in reading, is that where
the emphasis requires a transposition of it : this
happens w hen two words which have a sameness in
part of their formation, are opposed to each other in
sense. Thus, if I pronounce the worda justice and
ifjjtistice as single words, I naturally place ihe accent
on die penultimate syllable of both ; but if I contrast
them, and say, Neithei- justice nor injustice have any
thing to do with the present question ; in this sen-
tence I naturally phice the accent on the first syllable
of injustice^ in order the more forcibly and clearly to
distinguish it from justice. This transposition of
the accent, which is so evidently dictated by the
sense, extends itself to all words which have a same-

182 ELEMENTS O?

ness of termination, though they may not be directly
opposite in sense ; thus, if I wanted more paiticulitr-
ly to show that I meant one requisite of dramatick
story rather than another, I should say, In this spe-
cies of composition, plausibility is much more essen-
tial than probability ; and in the pronunciation of
these words, I should infallibly transpose the accent
of both from the third to the first syllables ; in order
to contrast those parts of the words which are dis-
tinguished from each other by the import of the sen-
tence. As an instance of the necessity of attending
to this emphatic^ accent, as it may be called, we
need only give a passage from the Spectator, No. 189 :

In this case I may use the saying of an eminent wit, who
upon some great men's pressing him to forgive his daughter
who had married against his consent, told them he could re-
fuse nothing to their instances, but that he would have them
remember there was a difference between giving and/orgiving.

In this example, we find the whole sense of the
passage depends on placing the accent on the first
syllable of forgiving^ in order to contrast it more
strongly with giving, to which it is opposed ; as,
without this transposition t)f accent, the opjwsition
on which the sentiment turns, would be lost.

Another instance will more fully illustrate the
necessity of attending to this emphatical accent.

The prince for the publick good has a sovereign property ia
every private person's estate ; and, consequently, his riches
must increase or ^crease, in proportion to the number and
riches of his subjects. Spectator^ No. 200.

The words increase and decrease have, in this
example, the accent on the first syllable of each, as
it is there the contrast in the sense lies.

What has already been said of accent, as it relates
to the art of reading, is, perhaps, more than sufficient ;
but so much has been said about the nature of tiiis
stccent, botli in the ancieHt and modern languages.

SLocuTxosr. 198

that it may not be improper to offer a few thoughts
on the subject here. Almost all authors, ancient
and modem, assert, that the accented syllable is pro-
nounced in a higher tone than the rest ; but Mr*
Sheridan insists that it is not pronounced higher,
but louder only.* Whatever may have been the
nature of accent in the learned languages, certain it is,
that the accented syllable in our own is always louder
than the rest ; and if we attend ever so little to the
two kinds of inflection with which every accented
word in a sentence is pronounced, we shall soon see
that the accented syllable is either higher or lower
than the rest, according to the inflection which it
adopts.

Thus in this sentence, Plate III. No. I. p. 184 :

Sooner or later virtue must meet with a reward.

Here I say the last syllable were? has the falling in-
flection ; and if we pronounce the word without em-
phasis, and merely as if we were concluding the
subject, this syllable will be pronounced louder and
lower than the syllable immediately preceding ; but
if we give emphasis to this syllable, by opposing it to
something else, we shall find it pronounced both high-
er and louder than the preceding syllables. Thus
HI the following sentence, Plate III. No. II. :

Most certainly virtue will meet with a reward, and not piSn-
ishment.

Here the word reward has the same inflection as
in the former instance, and the word punishment ends
with the rising inflection ; but the syllable ward
is perceptibly higher as well as louder than the
-syllable that precedes it. Again, if we give this

* See this erroneous opinion of Mr. Sheridan clearly refuted in the
Observations on the (^reek and Latin Accent and Quantity at the end of
the JCtj f» tks flftjfiftH Fnnpncigtm of Grcc* qni £i<rtin Prtfrr Namft.

184 BLEMENTS OF

tv'ord the rising inflection, we shall fird, in this case,
that without emphasis the accented syllable ward is
pronounced both louder and higher than the preced-
ing syllables. Thus No. III. :

If virtue must have a reward, it is our interest to be virtu-
ous.

These observations compare the accented syllablo
with the preceding syllables only : it will in the next
place be necessar}^ to compare it with tliose that fol-
low : for which purpose, let us observe the pronun-
ciation of this sentence, No. IV.

We ought to avoid blame, though we cannot be perfect.

Here, I say, if we give the word perfect the fall-
ing inflection, and pronounce it with emphasis, we
shall find the first syllable veiy preceptibly higher
and louder than the last ; on the contrary, if we give
the word perfect the rising inflection, we shall find
the accented syllable louder than the last, though not
so high ; for the last syllable perceptibly slides into
a higher tone. Thus No. V. :

If we wish to be perfect, we must imitate Christ.

These observations will, perhaps, be still better
conceived, by watching our pronunciation of a word
where the accent is nearly in the middle. Thus in
this passage of Shakespeare ;

What earthly name to interrogatories.
Shall task tlie free breath of a sacred king ?

King John.

In this passage, I say, the syllable rog has tlie ris-
ing inflection, and is pronounced perceptibly louder
and higher than the two first, and louder and lower
than the three last : but if we give this syllable the
falling inflection, as in this sentence :

ELOCUTION". , 185

He is neither mov'd by intreaties nor interrogatories.

Here, I say, the syllable rog, if pronounced with
the least degree of emphasis, is both louder and
higher than either the preceding or subsequent syl-
lables.

From these observations, this general conclusion
may be drawn : Whatever injiection be adopted^ the
accented syllable is always louder than the rest ; but
if the accent be pronounced with the rising i?iflection,
the accented syllable is higher than the preceding, and
lower than the succeeding syllable ; and if the accent
have the falling infection^ the accented syllable is pro-
nounced higher than any other syllable, either pre-
ceding or succeeding. The only exception to this is
the sentence, No. I. where the accent is on the last
syllable of a word which has no emphasis, and is pro-
nounced as forming a cadence at tlie conclusion of
a discourse.

Sooner or later virtue must meet with a reward.

Here the last syllable, though pronounced louder
than the first, is evidently pronounced a degree
lower.

It may not, perhaps, be improper to take notice of
a common usage of the word accent, which, though
seemingly inaccurate, will be found, upon examina-
tion, to be a just application of the word. It is the
custom, not only of England, but of other parts of
the world which are seats of empire, to cdl those
modes of pronunciation used in parts distant from
the capital, by the name of accents. Thus we say, a
native of Ireland speaks English with the Irish, and
a native of Scotland with the Scotch accent ; though
both these speakers pronounce every word with the
accent on the very same syllable as the English.
Why then do we sa}-, they speak with a different ac-
cent? One reason is, that speaking sounds have
24

186 ELEMENTS OF

never been sufficiently analysed to enable us to dis-
cover their component parts, which makes us fcike
up with indefinite and unspecifick terms, instead of
such as are precise and appropriated to their ob-
ject. This has greatly obscured the notion of accent,
and led Mr. Sheridan to suppose, that accent in our
language is no more than a force upon a certain syl-
lable of a word which distinguishes it from the rest ;
but that accent has no reference to inflections of
voice, and for that reason the word is used bv us in
the singular number.* Others have imagined, that
we have two accents, the gi'ave and acute ; but in
the definition of these, they seem only to mean that
the latter has a greater degree of force than the for-
mer. Thus, for want of the simple distinction of
the rising and falling slide of the voice, with ^hich
every accented syllable must necessarily be pronounc-
ed, the nature of our own accent seems as obscure,
and as little understood, as that of the Greeks and
Romans : and it is to this obscurity we owe the sup-
posed impropriety of calling a dialect by the name
of accent ; for though there are other differences in
the Scotch and Irish pronunciation of English be-
sides this, it is to the difference of accent that the chief
diversity is owing : if we understand accent only as
force or stress, there is, indeed, the slightest difference
imaginable ; since in both these kingdoms the stress
is (to the exception of very few words indeed) laid on
the same syllable as in England ; and, for this rea-
son, the laws of poetry are exactly the same in all ;
but if Ave divide accent into grave and acute, and call
the acute the stress with the rising inflection, and the
grave the stress with the falling inflection, we shall
then see the propriety of saying, such a one speaks
with tlie Irish or Scotch accent ; for though the Irish
place the stress precisely on the same syllable as the

• Essay on the Harmony of Language. jRobson^ 1774.

ELOCUTION. 187

\English, it is often with a different inflection ; and
jthe same may be said ol'the Scotch. Thus the Scotch
pronounce the far greater p.ul ot their words with the
acute accent, or rising inflection, and the Irish as con-
standy make use of the ^r^va accent, or falhng m-
flection, while the EngUsh observe pretty nearly a
due mixture of each. It we pronounce a sentence in
these three different modes, it may, perhaps, suggest
to the ear the truth of the ioregoing observations.

J Scotch.

Exercise and temperance strengthen the constitution;

^ Irish.

Exercise and temperance suengthen the constitution.

^ English.

Exercise and temperance strengthen the constitution.

If these observations are just, the Irish ought to
habituate themselves to a more frequent use of the
rising inflection, and the Scotch to the falling, in or-
der to acquire what is not (from this view ot the sub-
ject) improperly called the English accent.

But, besides the two simple accents, which, from
the rising or falling inflection they adopt, may be call-
ed the acute and the grave ; there are two other ac-
cents compounded of these, which may be called the
rising and falling circumflexes. These are totally
unknown to the modems : but are so inherent in the
nature of the human voice, and so demonstrable upon
experiment, as to defy contradiction. See Preface to
this work, in the Notes.

188 JELEMENTS OF

EMPHASIS.

Introduction to the Theory of Emphasis.

Emphasis, in the most usual sense of the word, "^
is that stress with which certain words are pronounc- ^
ed, so as to be distinguished from the rest of the sen-
tence. - Among the number of words we make use i
of in discourse, there will ahvays be some which are*
more necessary to be understood than others : those4
things with which we suppose our hearers to be pre^
acquainted, we express by such a subordination of
stress as is suitable to the small importance of things"
already understood ; while those of which our hear- '
ers are either not fully inlbrmed, or which they might '
possibly misconceive, are enforced with such an in-*
crease of stress as makes it impossible for the hearer
to overlook or mistake them. Thus, as in a picture,
the more essential parts of a sentence are raised, as it
were, from the level of speaking ; and the less neces-
sary are, by this means, sunk into a comparative
obscurity.

From this general idea of emphasis, it will readily
appear of how much consequence it is to readers and
speakers not to be mistaken in it ; the necessity of
distinguishing the emphatical words from the rest,
has made writers on this subject extremely solicit-
ous to give such rules for placing the emphasis, as
may, in some measure, facilitate this difficult part of
elocution : but few have gone farther than to tell us,
I. that we must place the emphasis on that word in read-
ing, which we should make emphatical in speaking ;
and though the importance of emphasis is insisted on
with the utmost force and elegjince of language, no
assistance is given us to determine which is the tm-
phutick word where several appear equally emphati-

ELOCUTION. 189

eal, nor have we any rule to distinguish between those
•words which have a greater, and those which have a
less degree of stress ; the sense of the author is the }
sole direction we ai'e referred to, and all is left to the/'
taste and understanding of the reader.

One writer, indeed, the author of the Philosophical
Inquiri/ into the Delivery of written Language^ has
given us a distinction of emphasis into two kinds,
^vhich has thrown great light upon this abstruse sub-
ject. This gentleman distinguishes the stress into
emphasis of force, and emphasis of sense. " Em-
phasis of force," he tells us, " is that stress we lay
" on almost every significant word; emphasis of sense
" is that stress we lay one or two piuticuiai' words,
*' which distinguishes them from all the rest in the
" sentence." — " The former stress," he observes, "is
" variable, according to the conception and taste of
*' the reader, and cannot be reduced to any certain
*' rule :" " the latter," he says, " is determined by the
"sense of the author, and is always fixed and in-
" variable." This distinction, it must be owned, is,
in general, a ver}- just one ; and a want of atteiiding
to it, has occasioned great confusion in this subject,
even in our best writers. They perceived, that be-
sides those words which were strongly emphaticai,
there ^\•ere many others that had a stress greatly su-
periour to the particles and less significant words, and
these they jumbled together under the general term
emphasis. Thus, when the emphaticai words Vv'ere to
be marked by being printed in a different character,
we find in several oi the modern productions on the
art of reading, that sometimes more than half of the
words are printed in Italicksy and considered as equal-
ly emphaticai. The wrong tendency of such a
practice is sufficiently obvious, but its origin \^^as
never pointed out till the publication of the essay
abo\e mentioned. This must be allowed to have
thrown considerable light on tlie subject ; and it is by

190 ELEMENTS OF

the assistance which this author has given, that I shall
endeavour to push my inquiries into emphasis siiil "
farther than he has clone : 1 sliall not only establish
the distinction he has laid down, but attempt to draw
tlie Hne between these two kinds of empiiusis, so as
to mark more precisely the boundaries ot each. To
this distinction of emphasis, I shull add another : I
^\shali make a distinction of each into two kinds, ac-
J)>ording to the inflection of voice they adopt j which,
^though of the utmost importance in conveying a just
idea of emphasis, has never been noticed by an^ of
our writers on the subject. This distinction oi em^
phasis arises naturally irom the observations already
laid down, on the rising and falling inflection ; we
have seen the importance of attending to these two
infections in the se\^eral parts, and at the end ot a
sentence ; and it is presumed, the utility oi attending
to the same inflections, when applied to emphasis
will appear no less evident and unquestionable.

But before we enter into this clistinction of em-
phatick inflection, it may not be improper to show
more precisely the distinction of emphasis, into that
M'hich arises from the peculiar sense of one or two
words in a sentence, and that \^ hich arises trom the '
greater importimce of the nouns, verbs, and other
significant words, than of connectives and particles.
And, first, let us examine some passages where on*
ly the latter kind of emphasis is tound ; this emphasis,
if it may be so called, tiikes place on almost every
word in a sentence, but the articles, prepositions,
and smaller parts of speecli ; and by pronouncing
these feebly, we give a force to the other words, tliat
is common!} , but improperly, styled emphasis.

Thus, in pronounchig the following sentence in
the Spectator :

Gratian very often recommends the fine taste as the utmost
perfection of an accomplished man. Spectator ^ No. 4'09.

ELOCUTION". iSJ

We may perceive a very evident difference in the
force with which these words are pronounced : the
article the, the conjunction and particle as the, and
the preposition and article of an, are very distinguish-
able from the rest of the words by a less forcible pro-
nunciation ; and this less forcible pronunciation on
the smaller words, raises the others to some degree of
emphasis. If we pronounce the next sentence prop-
erly, we shall find several other words sink into ^^
an obscurity of the same kind, and by their fee-
bleness a comparative degree of force thrown on the
rest of the words.

As this word arises very often in conversation, I shall en-
deavour to give some account of it ; and to lay down rules how
we know whether we are possessed of it ; and how we may ac-
quire that fine taste in writing which is so much talked of a-
jnong the polite world. Ibid.

In this sentence we find the prepositions, conjuc-
tions, and pronoun it, pronounced with the same de-
gree of feebleness as in the last instance ; and besides
these we find the words, / shall, we may, rue are, and
ivhich is, pronounced much more feebly than the rest
of the words ; this can be owing to nothing but the
nature of the words themselves, which, though m-
dicdtini^ person, promise, power, and existence, ex-
hibit none of these particulars emphatically ; that is,
these words imply only such general circumstances,
as the objects are commonly supposed to be accom-
panied with, and therefore are anticipated or pre-
supposed by the hearer : for whatever the hearer is
supposed to be acquainted with, is not the object of
communication : the person speaking is under no
necessity of telling his auditors that he in particular
shall do any thing, unless he means to distinguish
himself from some other speaker ; for that he speaks,
is very well understood by every one who hears
him ; and for this reason, whatever has been once

192 ELEMENTS OF

mentioned, is generally pronounced afterwards with
less force than at first, as supposed to be already
sufficiently known.

As an instance of the variety which this emphasis
of force (as it is called) admits, it may not be improp-
er to mai'k the foregoing sentence two different
ways ; first with such words in Italicks as seem
necessarily to require a greaterforce than the particles;
and then to add to these, such words as we may pro-
nounce in the same manner without altering the sense.

As this word arises very often in conversation, I shall endeavour to
^ive some account of it ; and to lay down rules hoiv we may
knoio tuhether we zre possessed o£ it ; and hotu we may acquire
that^nf taste in writing which is so much talied of among the
polite world.

As this ivord arises very often in conversation, I shall endeavour to
give some account of it r and to lay do<wn rules hoiv we may knovf
^whether we are possessed of it ; and hnnv we may acquire that
Jine taste in writing which is so much talked of among the polite
world.

It may, however, be observed, that though the
last manner of marking this sentence is more em-
phatical, the first is the most easy and natural.

I shall offer another instance to show the difference
in the stress we lay on different words in a sentence,
and then proceed to an examination of that stress
which may be properly styled emphatical. Thus if
we repeat the following sentence,

Exercise and temperance strengthen the constitution,

We find the particles cwf/and the^ pronounced much
more feebly than the other words : and yet these oth-
er words cannot be properly called emphatical ; for
the stress that is laid on them is no more than what
is necessar}' to convey distinctly the meaning of each
word : but if a word which has emphasis of sense be
thrown into tliis sentence, we shall soon percei^'e a

ELOCUTION. - 193

Striking difference between these words and the em-
phatical one ; thus, if we were to say,

Exercise and temperance strengthen even an indiflferent con-
stitution.

Here we shall find the word indifferent pronounc-
ed much more forcibly than the words exercise^ tem-
perancey and stengthen^ as these words arc more forc-
ibly pronounced than the particles o7id and the^ and
even than the wor6. constitution: for as this word comes
immediately after the emphatick word indifferent, and
is, by the very import of the emphasis, in some
measure understood, it sinks into the same degree of
-obscurity with the particles, and cannot be raised
from this obscurity without diminishing the force of
the emphatick word itself.

If it should be asked what degree of force are we
to give to these obscure words, it may be answered,
just that force we give to the unaccented syllables of
words ; so that two words, one accented and the
other not, are to the ear exactly like one word ; thus
the words, even an indifferent constitution, are sound-
ed like a word of eleven syllables, with the accent on
the fifth. For a full explication of the relative force
©f words, see Rhetorical Grammar, p. 97.

This brings us to a three-fold distinction of words
with regard to the force with which they are pro-
nounced ; namely, the conjunctions, particles, and
words understood, which are obscurely and feebly
pronounced ; the substantives, verbs, and more
significant words, which are firmly and distinctly
pronounced ; and the emphatical word, which is
forcibly pronounced : it is the last of these only
which can be properly styled emphasis ; and it is to
a discovery of the nature and cause of this emphasis,
that all our attention ought to be directed.

And first we may observe, that if these distinctions
are just, the common definition of emphasis is very
2*5

194 ELEMENTS OF

faulty. Emphasis is said to be a stress laid on one
or more words to distinguish them from others : but
this definition, as we have just seen, makes almost
every word in a sentence emphatical, and, at the same
time, confounds the distinction between words which
have force from a peculiarity of meaning, and those
which have force from having only a general mean-
ing, or more meaning than the particles. Here then
we must endeavour to investigate a juster definition ;
such a one as will enable us to distinguish words
which are really emphatical, from those which are
only pronounced with common force : for, as tlie in-
genious author abovementioned has observed, these
latter words may sometimes be forcibly, and some-
times feebly pronounced, without any importance to
the sense, as has been shown in the last example but
one ; but the former, that is, such words as are truly
emphatical, must always have their just degree of
force and energy, or the sense will be manifestly in-
jured : this Empliasis of sense, therefore, ought to
be the first object of inquiry.

The principal circumstance that distinguishes em-
phatical words from others, seems to be a meaning
which points out^ or distinguishes, something as dis-
tinct or opposite to some other thing. When this op-
position is expressed in words, it forms an antithesis,
(the opposite parts of which are ahvays emphatical.
Thus in the following couplet from Pope :

'Tis hard to say, if greater vrant of skill
Appear in writing or in judging ill.

The words W7'iting 2ir\djudgi?ig ai*e opposed to eack
other, and ai'e there lore the emphatical words : where
we may likewise observe, that the disjunctive or, by
which the antithesis is connected, means one of the
things exclusively of the other. The same may be
observed in another couplet from the same author i

ELOCUTION. 195

where one branch of the antithesis is not expressed
but understood :

Get weahh and place, if possible with grace,
If not, by any means get wealth and place.

Here it appears evidently, that the words any
means, which are the most emphatical, are directly
opposed to the means understood by the wordi grace,
and the last line is perfectly equivalent to this : If not
hy these means, by any other means, get wealth and
place.

In these instances, the opposition suggested by the
emphatical word is evident at first sight ; in other
cases, perhaps, the antithesis is not quite so obvious ;
but if an emphasis can be laid on any word, we may
be assured that word is an antithesis with some
meaning agreeable to the general sense of the pas-
sage.

To illustrate this, let us pronounce a line of Mar-
cus, in Cato, where, expressing his indignation at the
behaviour of Caesar, he says,

I'm tortur'd even to madness, when I think
Of the proud victor

And we shall find the greatest stress fall naturally
on that word, which seems opposed to some com-
mon or general meaning ; for the young hero does
not say, in the common and unemphatick sense of
the word think, that he is tortured even to madness
when he thinks on C^sar ; but in the strong and
emphatick sense of this word, M'hich implies not on-
ly when I hear or discourse of him, but even when I
think of him, I am tortured even to madness. As the
word think, therefore, arises above the common level
of signification, it is pronounced above the common
level of sound; and as this signification is opposed te

196 ELEMENTS OF

a signification less forcible, the word may be proper-
ly said to be emphatical.

This more than ordinarj"- meaning, or a meaning
opposed to some other meaning, seems to be the
principal source of emphasis ; for if, as in the last
instance, we find the words will bear this opposition
to their common signification, we may be sure they
are emphatical ; tliis will be still more evident from
another example :

By the faculty of a lively arid picturesque imagination, a
man in a dungeon is capable of entertaining himself with scenes
and landscapes, more beautiful than any that can be found
in the whole compass of nature. Spectator^ No. 411.

If we read this passage without that emphasis
which the word dungeon requires, we enervate the
meaning, and scarcely give the sense of the author ;
for the import plainly is, that a lively imaginationy
not merely absent from beautiful scenes^ hut even in a
dungeon^ can form scenes more beautiful than any in
nature.

This plenitude of meaning in a particular word,
is not always so prominent as to be discernible by a
common reader ; but wherever it really exists, the
general meaning of the author is greatly enforced by
emphatically pointing it out. Let us take an exam-
ple :

Steele begins one of his letters in the Spectator with
the following sentence :

I have very often lamented, and hinted my sorrow in several
speculations, that the art of painting is so little made use of, to
the improvement of our manners. Spectator ^ No. 22(3.

^s in this sentence, which is the first in the essay
it is taken from, we find a new and important object
introduced ; so, if we do not pronounce it with em-
phasis, it will not be sufiiciently noticed. The word

BLOCUTIOW. 197

paintings as it stands in this sentence, may very well
be supposed to be in contrast with other arts, which,
tliough often used for the improvement of manners,
tu-e, perhaps, not so conducive to that end, as this
pariicular art : this antithesis is perfectly understood
if the word painting is made emphatical, but entirely
lost if it is pronounced feebly : nay, sliding it over
without emphasis, will suppose the hearer pre-ac-
quainted with the subject to be treated, contrary td
what is really the case : this will be still more ap-
parent by pronouncing it both ways ; first, without
the proper stress on the word painting, and afterwards
with it.

I have very often lamented, and hinted my sorrow in several
speeulations, that the art of painting is so little made use of to
the improvement of our manners.

I have very often lamented, and hinted my sorrow in several
speculations, that the art of painting is so little made use of to
the improvement of our manners.

In these instances we find every emphatical word
placed in opposition, as it were, to some meaning
which it seems to exclude.

Wherever the contrariety or opposition is express-
ed, we are at no loss fOr the emphatical words ; the
greatest difficulty in reading, lies in a discovery of
those words which are in opposition to something not
expressed, but understood ; and the best method to
find the emphasis in these sentences, is to take the
word we suppose to be emphatical, and try whether
it will admit of those words being supplied which an
emphasis on it \\ ould suggest : if, when these words
are supplied, we find them not only agreeable to the
meaning of the WTiter, but^an improvement of his
meaning-, we ma}" pronounce the^ord emphatical ;
but if these words we supply are not agreeable to
the meaning of the words expressed, or else give
them an affected and fanciful meaning, we ought by

19S ELEMENTS 0?

no means to lay the emphasis upon them : Let us
take an example of both these kinds of emphasis.

Mr. Addison, in one of his Spectatois, sho^^ing
the advantages of good taste, says —

A man of a polite imagination is let into a great many
pleasures that the vulgar are not capable of receiving ; he can
converse with a picture, and find an agreeable companion in a
statue. Spectator^ No. 4-11.

We shall find but few readers lay any considera-
ble stress upon the word picture^ in this sentence ;
but if we examine it by the former rule, we shall find
a stress upon this word a considerable embellishment
to the thought ; for it hints to the mind that a polite
imagination does not only Jind pleasure in conversing
•with those objects which give pleasure to all^ but with
those which give pleasure to such only as can converse
with them ; here then the emphasis on the word pic-
ture, is not only an advantage to the thought, but in
some measure necessary to it. This will appear
still more evidently by reading the passage both ways,
as in the last example.

But if emphasis does not improve, it always vitiates
the sense ; and, therefore, should be always avoid-
ed where the use of it is not evident : this will ap-
pear by placing an emphasis on a word in a sentence
which does not require it :

I have several letters by me from people of good sense, vrho
lament the depravity or poverty of taste the tovi'n has fallen in-
to w^ith relation to plays and publick spectacles.

Spectator^ No. 208.

Now, if we lay a considerable degree of emphasis
upon the words good sense, it will strongly suggest
that the people here mentioned are not common or
ordinary people, which, though not opposite to the
meaning of the writer, does not seem necessary either
to the completion or embellishment of it ; for as

ELOCUTION. 109

particularly marking these people out as persons of
good sense, seems to obviate an objection that they
might possibly be fools, and as it would not be very
wise to suppose this objection, it would show as lit-
tle wisdom to endeavour to preclude it by a more than
ordinary stress ; the plain words of tlie author, there-
fore, without any emphasis on them, sufficiently show
his meaning.

From these observations, the following definition
of emphasis seems naturally to arise : Emphasis ^ when
applied to particular words, is that stress we lay on
words which are in contradistinction to other words
either expressed or understood. And hence will fol-
low this general rule ; Wherever there is contra-
distinction in, the sense of the words ^ there ought to be
empJiasis in the pronunciation of them ; the converse
of this being equally true. Wherever we place em-
phasis^ we suggest the idea of contradistinction.

Emphasis-thus investigated and defined, we may
observe, that ajlwords are pronounced either with em-
phatipk-foree, accented force, ^ unaccented force ;
this last kind of force we may calTBy^the name of
feebleness ; or, in other words, w here tbe words are
in contradistinction to other words, or to some sense
implied, we may call them emphatick ; where they do
not denote contradistinction, and yet are more im-
portant than the particles, we may call them accented,
and the particles and lesser words we may call unac-
cented or feeble ; for if we observe the pronunciation
of these latter words, v.e shall find they have exactly
the same feebleness as the unaccented syllables of a
word whose accented syllable is pronounced with some
degree of force: we shall see likewise, that an accented
word, which has a degree of force, when compared
with unaccented words ; when it is joined uith an em-
phatick one, and pronounced immediately before or
after it, sinks into a feebleness equal to the unaccent-
ed words ; and that the unaccented syllables, e^•en ol"

200 ELEMENTS OF

an emphatick word, are pronounced with as much less
force than the accented syllable, as the unaccented syl-
lables of an accented word, are less forcible than the
accented syllable of an unemphatick word. These
observations are exemplified in the pronunciation of
tlie following sentences :

Exercise and temperance strengthen the constitution.

Exercise and temperance strengthen even an indifferent con-
stitution.

In the first of these sentences, the particles aw(/and
the are pronounced like unaccented syllables of tem-
perance and constitution : in the last sentence, the
word constitution is pronounced with the'same feeble-
ness as the particles and and the ; and the two last
syllables of the emphatick word indifferent are as
much below the second syllable in force, as the
particles and unaccented syllables are below those
which have an accent.

By this threefold distinction we are enabled to make
very considerable advances in the methods of con-
\eying instruction in reading ; we can not only mark
the emphatick words as usual, but distinguish them
from the accented : these again may be distinguished
from the unaccented, and by these means we make
a neiu*er approach to the sense of composition, and
to a method of conveying our delivery of it to others.
But a still greater advance remains to be made by an-
other distinction, a distinction which, tothefornier ad-
vantages of marking the different degrees of force on
words,adds the still more striking difference of inflection
of voice. This distinction, though obvious and palpa-
ble, is perfectly new ; and it is hoped it has been so
explained in the first part of this work, as to be readily
comprehended by the reader ; for when it is once
comprehended, we may strongly presume that it can-
not fail to add greatly to instruction in speaking, as

JSLOCUTIOIf. 5SU

these two different inflections of voice are the most
marking and significant distinctions of speech.

As a specimen of the utiUty of these distinctioras
of emphasis and inflection, we may observe, that a dif-
ference of character may express the different de-
grees of force with which every word is pronounced,
and a different accent may show what inflection each
of these forces must adopt. Thus in the following
example :

Exercise and temperance^trengthen even an INDJF'FERENT
constitution.

Here we see a threefold distinction of force : the
word indifferent is emphatical, and has the gi-eatest
stress ; the words exercise^ temperance^ and strength-
en^ have a lesser degree of force ; and the words cwJ,
<rve}i^ an^ and constitution, have a still smaller degree
of stress, and may be said to be absolutely feeble : and
these different forces are diversified by the difference
of inflection, as marked in the example. But al*
though, in certain critical cases, Where the sense of
an author is difficult to point out, all these three dis-
tinctions may greatly assist us in conveying the ex-
act pronunciation ; yet, in genci-al, it will be quite
sufficient to mark the emphatick word with small
fta/ick.s, and the rest with Roman letters, without
entering into the distinction of the feeble w^ords from
those that ha\e a secondary force : which feeble words,
if necessary to be pointed out, may be denoted by the
small JRoman letter, and their different inflections by
a dift'erent accent.

Those who wish to see this notation more distinct-
ly delineated, may consult the Rhetorical Gram-
jr AR ; where, it is presumed, they will find the full-
est satisfaction respecting the relative force of unacv
»"t;nted words.

*26

202 ELEMENTS OF

Theory of Emphatick Injlection.

Having thus endeavoured to give a clear and
distinct idea of the two different kinds of emphasis,
and attempted to prove, that emphasis, properly so
called, always supposes contradistinction or antithe-
sis, either expressed or understood ; it will now be
necessaiy to show that every emphatick word, prop-
erly so called, is as much distinguished by the in-
flection it adopts, as by the force with which it is
pronounced.

We have seen already, that where there is no
emphasis, the most significant words in a sentence
adopt a different inflection of voice for the sake of
variety and harmony : for, provided the sentence
reads well, it is of no consequence on which words
the different inflections are placed. Thus in the fol-
lowing sentence :

Exercise and temperance strengthen the constitution.

In this sentence, I say, the words temperance and
strengthen have the rising, and exercise and constitu-
tion the falling inflection ; but if this sentence were
lengthened by the addition of another member, we
should find the inflections shift their places. Thus
in the following sentence :

Exercise and temperance strengthen the constitution and
sweeten the enjoyments of life.

Here, I say, the words exercise and constitution
have the rising, and temperance and strengthen the
falling inflection, as most agreeable to the harmony
of the whole sentence : but if a word really em]3hati-
cal had been in the first sentence, no additional

ELOCUTION* fi03

member would have obliged it to alter its inflection,
Thus in the following sentence :

Exercise and temperance strengthen even an indifferent con-
stitution.

Here the word indifferent^ which is really empha-
tical, has the falling inflection ; and this inflection it
will still preserve, though we lengthen the sentence
in imitation of the former by an additional member.
For example :

Exercise and temperance strengthen even an indifferent con-
stitution, and supply* in some measure the imperfections of

nature.

Here we find that, however the inflection may
change place on the rest of the words, the word in-
different must always have the falling inflection, or
the sensd of the sentence will not be brought perfect-
ly out. In the same manner we may observe, that
tJie same word in another sentence, when it requires
the rising inflection, caimot alter that inflection to the
falling, without injuring the sense. Thus in the fol-
lowing sentence :

He that has but an indifferent constitution ought to strength-
en it by exercise and temperance.

Here the word indifferent must necessarily have
the emphasis with the rising inflection, whatever
may be the inflection on the other words.

As a farther proof that emphatick words cannot
alter their inflection, we need only attend to the pro-
nunciation of a line in Milton, where t\\ o emphatick
words are opposed to each other ; speaking of Nim-
rod, he says —

Hunting (and men not beasts shall be his game.) JB. xii. v. 30.

204 ELEMENTS OF

In pronouncing this passage, we shall find cv^ry
reader lay the falling inflection on meriy and the ris-
ing on beasts, as giving them a contrar}' position,
that is, pronouncing men with the rising, and beasts
with the falling inflection, would soon convince us
that the former arrangement is precisely what the
sense demands.
/' From these observations this maxim arises, that
/ as the emphasis of a word depends on the sense of a
I sentence, so the inflection of voice which this em-
I phatick word adopts, depends on the sense likewise,
and is equally in\'ariable : from whence it will evi-
dently follow, that where there are two emphatick
words in the same sentence, the sense alone can de>
cide which is to have the rising, and which the fall-
ing inflection of voice.

It has been already proved, that emphasis always
implies antithesis ; and that where this antithesis is
agreeable to the sense of the author, the emphasis is
proper ; but that where there is no antithesis in the
thought, there ought to be none on the n ords : be-
cause, whenever an emphasis is placed upon an im-
proper word, it will suggest an antithesis, which
either does not exist, or is not agreeable to the sense
imd intention of the writer. Here some new light
seems to be thrown on the nature of emphasis, and
a line drawn to distinguish emphatick words from
others ; but still ^ve are at a loss for the reason why
one emphatick word should adopt the rising inflec-
tion, and another tlie falling : from the foregoing ex-
amples, it appears, that every emphatick word re-
quires either the one or the other of these inflections,
and that the meaning of an author entirely depends
on giving each emphatick word its peculiar inflec-
tion. It does not seem therefore entirely useless,
so far to inquire into the nature, or specifick quali-
ty, if I may be allowed to call it so, of these two em-
phatick inflections, as to be able to decide which Are

ELOCUtlON. $0S

shall adopt, where the sense of the author does not
immediately dictate. Thus in a former quotation
from Milton, when speaking of Nimrod, he says.

Hunting (and mtn not l/eiists shall be his game.)

Here I say, the ear and understanding are both
immediately satisfied upon pronouncing men with
the falling, and beasts with the rising inflection ; but
in another line of the same author, when speaking of
Satan, he calls him,

The tempter ere th* accuser of mankind.

Here, I say, it is not quite so clear how we shall
dispose of these two inflections on the two emphatick
\\ ords tempter and accuser ; and an inquiry into the
nature of these inflections, so as to fix the peculiar
import of each, may, perhaps, assist us in deciding
with precision in this and similar instances.

It has been observed, thiit emphasis is divisible
O into two kiiids, namely, into that where the ant. hesis
is expressed, and that where it is only implied ; or,
in other ^\'ords, into that emphasis where there are
two or more emphatick words corresponding to each
other, and that where the emphatick word relates to
some other word, not expressed but understood ;
iin instance of the first is diis :

When a Persian soldier was reviling Alexander the Great,
his officer reprimanded him by sayinor. Sir, you were paid to
fight against Alexander, and not to rail at him. Spectator.

Here a\ e Und fig/it and rail are the two emphatick
w ords which correspond to each other, and that the
positive member, which afiirms something, adopts the
fulling inflection on fight, and the negative member,
which excludes something, has the rising inflection
on rail.

206 ELEMENTS OF

An instance of the latter kind of emphasis is this .:

By the faculty of a lively and picturesque imagination, a
man in a dungeon is capable of entertaining himself with
scenes and landscapes, more beautiful than any that can be
found in the whole compass of nature. Spectator, No. 411.

Here we find tlie word dungeon emphatical, but it
has not any correspondent w^ord as in the other sen-
tence. If we pronounce this emphatick word with
the falling inflection, the correspondent words which
belong to this emphasis may be imagined to be near-
ly these, not merely absent from beautiful scenes ;
"which, if added to the word dungeon ^ we should find
perfectly agreeable to the sense suggested by the em-
phasis on that word ; if we draw out this latter sen-
tence at length, we shall find it consist of the same
positive and negative parts as the former, and that
, the positive part assumes the falling, and the negative
the rising inflection in both.

EXAMPLES.

When a Persian soldier was reviling Alexander the Great,
his officer reprimanded him by saying. Sir, you were paid to
fight against Alexander, and not to rail at him.

By the faculty of a lively and picturesque imagination, a man
in a dungeon, and not merely absent from beautiful scenes, is
capable of entertaining himself with scenes and landscapes,
more beautiful than any that can be tound in the whole
compass of nature.

Here then we are advanced one step towards a
knowledge of what inflection of voice we ought to
use on one kind of emphasis ; for whenever the em-
phatick word points out a particular sense in exclusion
of some other sense ^ this emphatical word adopts the
falling inflection : the word fight, therefore, in the
first, and dungeon in the last example, must necessari-
ly be pronounced wiih the falling inflection, as they

ELOCUTION. i(>7

tacitly exclude rail^ and mere absence from beautiful
scenes, which are in contradistinction to them.

Having thus discovered the specifick import of one
emphatick inflection, it will not be very difficult to
trace out the other : for as the import of these two
inflections may be presumed to be different, we may,
by analogy, be led to conclude, that as the emphatick
word which excludes something in contradistinction
to it, demands the falling inflection, the emphasis
with the rising inflection is to be placed on those
words^ which, though in contradistinction to something
else, do not absolutely exclude its existence. Let us
Xxy this by an example. Lothario, in the Fair Peni-
tent, expressing his contempt for the opposition of
Horatio, says.

By the joys
Which yet my soul has uncontroll'd pursu'd,
I would not turn aside from my least pleasure.
Though all thy' force were arm'd to bar my way.

Fair Penitent, Act ii»

The word thy, in this passage, has the emphasis with
the rising inflection ; which intimates, that however
Lothario might be restrained by the force of others,
Horatio's force, at least, was too insignificant to con-
trol him : and as a farther proof thatthis is the sense
suggested by the rising inflection on Ihe w-ord thy, if
we do but alter the inflection upon this word, by giv-
ing it the emphasis with the falling inflection, we
shall find, that, instead cf contempt and sneer, a com-
pliment will be paid to Horatio ; for it would imply
as much as if Lothario had said, / would not turn
aside from my least pleasure, not only though common
force, but even though thy force, great as it is, were
armed to bar my way : and that this cannot be the
sen^e of the passage, is evident.

Here then mc seem arri\jed- at the true principle
of distinction m emphasis. \ All emphasis has an an-

208 ELiiMENTs or

tithe sis either expressed or understood; if the emphases,
exchides the antithesis^ the emphatick word has the
Jcdling injiection ; if the efnpJiasis does not exchide the
antithesis^ the emphatick word has the rising in-
jiection. The gi'and distinction, therefore, between
the two emphatick inflections is this ; the falling in-
fection affirms sometJiing in the emphasis^ and denies
what is opposed to it in the antithesis^ while the em-
phasis with the rising infection^ affirms something in
the emphasis^ without denying what is opposed to it
in the afitithesiT^the former, therefore, from its
affirming and denying absolute!}', may be called the
strong emphasis ; and the latter, from its affirming
only, and not denying, may be called the weak em-
phasis. As a farther trial of the tnith of these de-
finitions, let us examine them by a fe^v additional
examples.

When Richard the Third rejects the proposal of
the duke of Norfolk to pai'don the rebels, he says,

Why that, indeed, was our sixth Harry's way,
Which made his reign one scene of rude commotion i
I'll be in men's despite a monarch : no,
Let kings thatyi?^r forgive j blows and revenge
For me. Richard III. Act 5.

In this example, we find several words emphatical ;
but the words Respite andy^-ar particularly so : these
are always pronounced with the strong emphasis,
Avhich always adopts the falling inflection. In the
foregoing definition of this emphasis, it is said, that
the falUng inflection affirms something in the em-
phasis, and denies what is opposed to it in the anti-
thesis ; and Me accordingly find, that something is
affirmed of the words despite andyc-tf?-, and something
is denied of the antlthctick objects suggested by these
\\\)rds, which areyc^uo/zr and fearlessness ; for the
paraphrase of these \vords, when thus emphatical,
would be,./'// 6r, 7/0^^ //? men'' s favour^ but hi their

ELOCUTION. 209

despite a monarch — and let not me ivho am fearless,
but kings that fear^ forgive : by which we perceive the
justness of the definition ; for what is affirmed of the »
emphatick object is denied of the antithetick object ;
agreeably to the definition of the strong emphasis, or
the emphasis with the falling inflection : another ex-
ample will sen'e failher to illusti-ate the nature of
this species of emphasis.

When Cato is encouraging his little senate to hold
out against Cssai' to the last, he says,

Why should Rome Tall a moment ere her time ?

The emphasis, with the falling inflection on the
word momejit, which is the inflection it is always pro-
nounced with, suggests an antithesis opposed to a
moment, which antidiesis is a very short time ; and
the import of this emphasis at length, would be
equivalent to this : fFhi/ should Home fill not only a
little^ but even a moment before her ti?ne ? By which
pai'aphrase, we see the definition of this emphasis
again exemplified ; for something is affirmed of the
emphatick object, and something is denied of the
antithetick object.

The import of the emphasis with the rising in-
flection, may be exemplified by the following pas-
sage. Horatio, in the Fair Penitent, taxing Lothario
widi forger}', says,

*Twas base and poor, unworthy of a man,

To forge a scroll so villainous and loose.

And mark it with a noble lady's name. Act. ii.

The word man^ in the first line of this example, is
the emphatick object, which must necessarily hav^
the rising inflection ; because this inflection intimates,
that something is affirmed of the emphatick, which
is not denied of the antithetick object : the anti-
thetick object to the word man^ we may suppose to
be some being of a Xowxv order ; ai)d if this emphasis
27

216 ELEMENTS OF

were paraphrased, it would riin thus : ''Tivas base
andpoor^ unworthy of a man^ though not unworthy of
a brute. And thus we find, that in this emphasis,
what is affirmed of the emphatick object, is not de-
nied of the antithetick object, agreeably to the de-
finition laid down.

In the examples which have been hitherto produc-
ed, the emphasis has always clearly suggested the
antithesis ; and a paraphrase, formed by producing
both the emphatick and antithetick object, has readily
presented itself: but there are^many instances, where,
though the antithetick object is equally real, it is not
so easily made out. In order to facilitate this opera-
tion, it will be necessary to observe, that the human
feelings have recourse to the most minute distinc-
tions imaginable, for the sake of expressing those
feelings with precision and force.

Thus when Lothario, in the Fair Penitent, says t©
Lucilla,

I see thou hast learn'd to rail. Fair Pen. Act i.

The emphasis with the rising inflection on the word
rail, does not suggest any precise antithetick object in
opposition to it, but an indefinite something more
excellent than railing, as if he had said, / see thou
hast learti'd to rail, if thou hast not acquired any art
more excellent than railing : but whether she has any^
such acquirement, he leaves her to judge.

In the same manner, when Jane Shore is protesting
her fidelity to Edward's issue, Gloucester answers,

'Tis well — we'll try" the temper of your heart.

Jane Shore, Act iv.

The emphasis with the falling inflection on the word
try suggests an antithesis, which makes it necessary
to have recourse to the former speech : in this we
find Jane Shore gives proof of her fidelity by protest-

ELOCUTION. 211

ations ; but Gloucester replies, ^Tis rucll^weHl try the
temper of your heart ; which is perlectly equivalent
to saying, fVe ivill not only prwe your Jidelity by
tailings but by trial ; and as this amplifies and illus-
trates the sense of the passage, we may be sure the
emphasis is properly placed.

An instance of an antithesis, perhaps, still less ob-
vious, ^ve have in the following line of Richard the
Third, where Prince Edward apologizes for his
brother's sarcastick ridicule on the Duke of Glouces-
ter:

I hope your grace knows how to Uar with him. Act iit

The bear^ in this sentence, is the emphatical word,
and alwaj^s pronounced with the rising inflection ;
but though we perceive, at first hearing, the proprie-
ty of adopting this inflection, we camiot so readily
discover the antithetick object intimated by it ; it is
not till we consider the definition of the neuter verb
to bear^ that we find out what is opposed to it ; the
word bear^ in the passage alluded to, indicates sup-
porting a degree of displeasure, so as to seem pleased
when we are not really so ; the antithetick object,
therefore, must be, being really pleased^ and the par-
aphrase intimated by this emphasis will be this : /
hope your grace knows how to bear^ or to seem pleas-
ed with him^ though not to be really pleased with him.

Sometimes the sense of a passage makes it difliicult
to determine whether we must use the emphasis with
the rising or falling inflection ; and in this case,
(though it seldom happens) we may adopt either the
one or the other indifferently. Thus when Horatio,
in the Fair Penitent, tells Calista that he came to her
as a friend, she ans\\ers.

You are my husband's friend, the friend oi AVtamontl

The words husband and Altamont^ in this line, are
cmphutical ; if they are both pronounced with the

212 ELEMENTS OF

falling inflection, it imports an absolute denial of the
antithetick object, which is the Jriendship of Horatio
to her ; if we pronounce them with the rising inflec-
tion, it only insinuates that he is not her friend : and
this latter emphasis seems the most suitable to the
situation of Calista, as at that time she has not so far
broke terms with Horatio as absolutely to deny that
he is her friend ; and, therefore, the inflection which
affirms something in the emphasis, without denying
the antithesis, is the inflection she ought to adopt.

Thus have I been led insensibly by my subject
into intricacies and distinctions, whither, perhaps, but
few of mv readers will be able to follow me : I
might, indeed, have contented myself with less mi-
nuteness and precision, but the speculation appeared
too curious and useful to be slightly treated. If
what has been observed of these emphatick inflections
be true, we may take occasion to contemplate how
few are the principles on which Divine Wisdom con-
structs operations of the greatest extent and variety :
and it may be presumed, that by being acquainted
with these principles, we shall be better enabled to
enter into the views of Providence in the gift of
speech, by perfecting and regulating it according to
these views. By a knowledge of the principles of
grammar, we are enabled to express our thoughts
with greater force, precision, and perspicuity ; and
it cannot be doubted, that a knowledge of the gram-
mar of pronunciation, if it may be called so, will
powerfully tend to the same useful purpose.

Practical System of Emphasis.

Having endeavoured to shewtlie nature of em-
phasis, properly so called, and attempted to distin-

ELOCUTION. 213

guish it into its several kinds, according to the inflec-
tion of voice it adopts ; having made some efforts to
ascertain the peculiar character of each emphatick
infection, and by this means afforded some assist-
ance to a discovery of the true emphasis in doubtful
cases ; it will be necessary, in the next place, to en-
deavour to reduce what has been said into a practical^
system, and to extend the former observations on
emphatick inflection to the pronunciation of every dif-
ferent species of emphasis. Hitherto we have treat-
ed chiefly of that emphasis, which may be called
single ; that is, either where the two emphatick words
in antithesis with each other are expressed ; or
where but one of them is expressed, and the an-
tithesis to it is implied or understood. But be-
sides these, there are instances where two emphatick
words are opposed to two others, and sometimes
where three emphatick words are opposed to three
others in the same sentence. Let us take a view of
each of these different kinds of emphasis in its order :

, r Exercise and temperance strengthen even an ind]ff'erent con-
1^ stitution.

. o J You were paid toflghi against Alexander, and not to rail
\ at him.

„ C The pleasures of the imagination are not so gross as those
\ of sense, nor so refined as those of the understanding.

^Xshe

In the first example, we find the emphatick word
indifferent suggest an antithesis not expressed, name-
ly, not a good constitution ; this may be called the
single emphasis implied.

In the second example, the words Jight and rail
are in antithesis with each other, and do not suggest
any other antithetick objects ; and this may be callea
the single emphasis expressed.

raised a mortal to the si^tes.
drew an angel down.

214 ELEMENTS OF

In the next example, the emphatick words gros^-
and refined are opposed to each other, and contrast-
ed with sense and understanding ; and this mutual
correspondence and opposition ot" four parts to each
other may not improperly be tenned the double ein-
phasis.

* . When three antithetick objects are opposed to
three, as in No. 4, we may call the assemblage the
treble emphasis*

\ Single Emphasis implied and expressed.

In the single emphasis implied^ we find the inflec-
tions are so strictly appropriated to the nature of the
emphasis, that using one instead of the other would
inevitably alter the sense : This has been abundantly
proved in the preceding chapter. The same may
be observed (as we shall see presently) of the single
emplmsis expressed ; but this appropriation of inflec-
tion to sense does not seem to hold so strictly Avhere
the emphasis is double, or treble ; for here, as the
antithetick objects are almost always expressed, and
there is seldom any danger of a mistake in the sense,
we shall not wonder to find harmony claim her indis-
putable rights in making this sense most agreeable
to the ear.

But though the inflections of the double and treble
emphasis frequently yield to the haiTnony of arrange-
ment, the single emphasis expressed requires its spe-
cifick inflection on each part ; for in the second ex-
ample :

You were paid to ftght against Alexander, and not to rail
at him.

Here, if we were to place the rising inflection on
fight and the falling on raily as the harmony of ca-

ELOCUTION. 193

dencc would intimate, we should soon find, that in
the single emphasis expressed, there is as strict an
appropriation of inflection to the sense of the empha-
sis as when but one pait of the antithesis is expres-
sed in the single emphasis implied. As the inflec-
tions in this species of emphasis, therefore, are of
much more importance, and much more difficult to
settle, than those of the double luid treble emphasis,
it may not be iriiproper, before we enter on the lat-
ter, to extend our speculations a little on the former.
Whatever may be the reason why the positive
member of a sentence should adopt the emphasis with
the falling inflection, and the negative member the
rising ; certain it is, that this appropriation of emphat-
ick inflection, to a positive or negative signification,
runs through the whole s}stem of pronunciation.
Agreeably to this arrangement, we constantly find
good readers finish negative sentences with the ris-
ing inflection, where ordinary readers are sure to use
the falling inflection, and to drop the voice ; and,
perhaps, this different pronunciation forms one of the
greatest differences between good and bad readers :
Thus, in the following sentence from the Oration of
Demosthenes on the Crown, translated by Dr. Le-
land :

Observe then, -^schmes ; our ancestors acted thus in both
these instances ; not that they acted for their benefactors, not
that they saw no danger in these expeditions. Such considera-
tions never could induce them to abandon those who fled to
their protection. No, from the nobler motives of glory and
renown, they devoted their services to the distressed.

There are few good readers who w ill not pronounce
the two first sentences of tliis passage so as to ter-
minate them with the rising inflection : And this
manner of reading them we find agreeable to the par-
a phrase suggested by thefalling inflection adopted by
the positive signification of the last sentence ; by
which means all the sentences of this passage form

216 ELEMENTS OF'

parts of one thought, and may be reduced to the defi-
nition of the emphasis with the falHng inflection ; as.
They acted from the nobler motives of glory and re-
nown^ and not inferiour motwes.

Wherever, therefore a negative sentence, or mem-
ber of a sentence, is in opposition to a positive sen-
tence, or member of a sentence, we find it usually
adopt the rising inflection : And often where there is
no correspondent positive member or sentence ex-
pressed, if the negative member or sentence would
admit of a positive, and that the sense of this positive
is agreeable to the general tenor of the composition ;
in tliis case, likewise, we find the negative member
or sentence adopt the rising inflection. Thus, in the
same oration, Demosthenes, speaking of the publick
works he had erected, says,

As to those publick works, so much the object of your ridi-
cule, they, undoubtedly, demand a due share of honour and ap-
plause ; but I rate them far beneath the great merit of my ad-
ministration. It is not with stones nor bricks that 1' have for-
tified the City. It is not from works like these that I' derive my
reputation. Would you know my methods of fortifying ? Ex-
amine, and you will find them in the arms, the towns, the ter-
ritories, the harbours 1 have secured ; the navies, the troops,
the armies I have raised.

The two middle negative sentences of this passage
have not any correspondent positive sentences pre-
ceding or following them ; but the rising inflection
on these sentences suggests a meaning so compatible
with the mind of the speaker, that we cannot doubt of
its being the true one ; for it is equivalent to saying,
Jt is not with -works like these that I' have fortified
the city^ but with something much better. This will
receive a fartlier illustration from another passage of
the same orator.

For if you now pronounce, that, as my publick conduct hath
not been right, Ctesiphon must stand condemned, it must be

ELOCUTION. 217

tliought that yourselves have acted wrong, not that you
owe your present state to the caprice of fortune. But it can-
not be. No, my countrymen ! It cannot be you have acted
wrong, in encountering danger bravely, for the liberty and
safety of all Greece. No ! by those generous souls of ancient
times, who were exposed at Marathon ! By those who stood
arrayed at Platea ! By those who encountered the Persian
fleet at Salamis ! who fought at Artemisium ! By all those il-
lustrious sons of Athens, whose remains lie deposited in the
publick monuments ! All of whom received the same honoura-
ble interment from their country : Not those only who pre-
vailed, not those only who were victorious. And with reason.
What was the part of gallant men they all performed ; their
success was such as the supreme director of the world dispens-
ed CO each.

The two last members of the first sentence we find
naturally adopt their specifick inflections ; that is, the
positive member, tlie falling on zvrovg, and the nega-
tive the rising oxv fortune. The succeeding sentence
has a negation in it that suits the rising inflection
much better tlian the falling, and therefore Greece
has very properly the rising inflection ; and the latter
members, not those only -who prevailed^ not those only
"who were victorious^ \\'ill not admit of the falling in-
flection without an evident prejudice to the sense.

Plausible, however, as this doctrine may appear,
it is not pretended that it is universally true. It is
certain, that a negative member of a sentence may of-
ten have the falling, and a positive member the rising
inflection : But it is as certain, that where the sen-
tence is so constructed as to require the rising inflec-
tion on the negative, and the falling on the positive
part of the sentence, there is always both greater force
and harmony.

From these observations, therefore, we may con-
clude, that in the single emphasis, where harmony is
not grossly violated, sense ought always to predom-
inate : and hence will arise this general rule : When-
ever a sentence is composed of a positive a?id negative
part, if this positive and negative imports that some
28

218 ELEMENTS OF

thin^ is affirmed of one of the things which is denied
of the other, the positive must have the falling and the
negative the rising inflection. '

Small as the extent of this rule is, it appears to
throw a considerable light on the doctrine of empha-
sis ; and particularly where the sense of a passage is
not very obvious, and where harmony admits of a
diversity of inflection. Let us endeavour to reduce
these speculations to practice. In a passage of Mil-
ton's Paradise Lost, the angel, speaking of Nimrod,,
says,

Hunting (and men, not beasts, shall be his game.)

B. xH.

Every ear agrees to lay the emphasis with the falling
inflection on men, and the emphasis with the rising
inflection on beasts, agreeably to the rule just laid
down ; but when, in the same author, we meet with
a description of Satan^s coming down to be reveng-
ed on men in these words.

For now
Satan, now first inflam'd with rage, came down ;
The tempter, ere th' accuser of mankind.
To wreck on innocent frail man his loss
Of that first battle, and his flight to hell.

B. iv.

In the third line of this passage we find no such
certainty in adapting a different inflection to the two
emphatick words tempter and accuser, as in the for-
mer instance.

A little reflection, however, obliges us to give the
falling inflection to tempter, and the rising to accuser ,-
but the reason of this disposition does not readily oc-
cur. A little farther reflection will induce us to re-
solve this arrangement of inflection into the foregoing
rule"; • For the \\ovCl ere, signifying before, relates to
the word now, in the former line ; and the paraphrase

ELOCUTION. fil:9

of this emphasis is, the tempter norw^ at this time^ not
the accuser y as he was afterwards ; whereas a trans-
position of emphatick inflection, that is, the rising in-
flee tion on tempter ^ ailtl the falhng on accuser ^ would
infallibly suggest this sense — The tempter, not only
before he was something more inimical than accuser^
but before he was even the accuser of mankind. This
paraphrase agrees so ill ^vith the sense of the passage,
and the former so well, that \Ae need not hesitate a
moment about the true emphasis.

The reason for placing the emphasis with the ris-
ing inflection on accuser, and that with the falling on
tempter^ seems to arise from the same principle as
that of placing the emphasis with the falling inflec-
tion on the positive, and that with the rising inflec-
tion on the negative part of a sentence ; for the pri-
ority of one thing to another is reducible to its be-
ing that thing at that time, and not another thing ;
and the preferableness of one thing to another is equal
to the choice being fixed on one thing and not anoth-
er. Thus the following phrase : " I would rather
teach the art of poisoning than that of sophistry,"
may be reduced to this : If I must teach one of these
arts, I will teach poisoning, and not soph^str}\ But
if one of these parts of the antithesis admits of em-
phasis, that is, if it appears to be the intention of the
speaker not to say merely that one thing is prior or
preferable to another, but that one of these things, in
the strictest sense of the 'word, and opposed to some-
thing of smaller import, is prior or preferable to an-
other ; or, if one of these things is said to be prior or
preferable to another thing, taken in its strictest sense,
and opposed to some other thing of less importance ;
in this case, I say, the emphasis with the fiilling in-
flection is on that part of the antitliesis which inti-
mates something of more importance than is simply
expressed. Thu^, in the following sentence,

220 ELEMENTS OF

I would die sooner than mention it.

If we mean only to declare our choice betw cen dy-
ing and mentioning, the falling inflection must be
placed on die, as this is the part of the sentence that
corresponds to the positive part of the declaration :
If we would express this choice with emphasis, so
as to show that we would not only undergo great
difficulties, but that we would even die sooner than
mention it, the same inflection is preserved on the
same word, with a small addition of emphatick force :
If it were understood that we would die sooner than
mention it, but for fear mention should be taken in
too large a sense, we wish to express a resolution of
dying before vve would discover the smallest part of
it ; in this case, I say, we should lay the strong em-
phasis and falling inflection on 7netition, which would
intimate a new antithesis, and the equivalent to sa}'-
ing, / would not only die before I would declare or re-
late it, but even before I would mention it ; and here
w'e find the word die assume the weak emphasis and
rising inflection, as the question in this case is not so
much about d}' ing as about the degree of mention
we are resolved not to make.

But if both parts of the comparison be imderstood,
aud therefore to be taken simply and without em-
phasis, and it is the intention of the speaker to de-
clare, with emphasis, the priority or preferablencss
only ; in this case, the comparative word has the
strong emphasis and falling inflection, and the \yox6.
compared has the weak emphasis and rising inflec-
tion. Thus Gay, in his fable of the Elephant and
Bookseller, makes the latter ofler pay to the former
for writing satire ; and in order to show there is no
necessity to hire beasts to prey on men, \v'hile men^
by envy, prey on each other, says,

Envy's a sharper spur than pay.

ELOCUTION. 221

Here the word sharper has the strong emphasis
and lalling inflection, as envy is not said, with em-
phasis, .to be a sharper spur than pay ; for envy is
v\oi here opposed to any other disposition, or to a
disposition less malevolent ; nor is pay opposed to
any other, or to a less reward ; but the emphasis is
confined to the comparative word, sharper ; as if he
had said, Envy is not only a spur equally sharp, but
sharper than pay.

On these principles we may account for the em-
phasis w hich a good actor always places on the first
piut of the antithesis in the following examples :

Ham. What ! look'd he frowningly ?

Hor. A countenance more in sorrow than in anger. Shakes.

It is a custom
More honoured in the breach than the observance. Ibid,

He is more knave than fool. Proverbial phrase.

Oh ! the blood more stirs,
To rouse a lion than to start a haie.

Shakes. Hen. IV. Part I. Act i.

This last example is the parallel of that from
Gay ; and it is presumed, that a judicious actor
would lay the great stress, that is, the emphasis with
the falling inflection, on the word ?nore, and give the
\vords lio?i and hare the weak emphasis and rising
inflection. For Hotspur, in this passage, is talking
of dangers, and is not so much comparing them as
the advantages that arise from them ; and the para-
phrase of this emphasis would be, the resistance wc
make to g?'eat and sJuall danger is not equal; a great
danger stirs the blood much more than a small one.

This paraphrasing or drawing out the significa-
rion of emphatick words seems tlie best guide where
the sense is not quite obvious, and will lead us to
decide in many doubtful cases, where nothing but

222 ELEMENTS OF

the taste of the reader is commonly appealed to. To
illustrate this still farther, let us examine a line in
Otway's Venice Preserved, where Pien-e, expatiat-
ing on the wretched state of Venice, says,

Justice is lame as well as blind among us.

The phrase, as well as, signifies nothing more
than paiity, and is nearly similar in sense to the
conjunction and ; if, therefore, we lay the falling in-
flection on blindy it would be equivalent to saying.
Justice is ?iot only lame, but blind; and this is a piece
of information we did not want : For justice is al-
ways supposed to be blind. But the falling inflec-
tion on lame, and the rising on blind, is equivalent to
saying, Justice is not only blind, as she is every where
else, but in Fejiice she is lame as well as blind. And
that this is the true meaning of the passage, cannot
be doubted. If the poet had writen the line in tliis
manner :

Justice is as lame as she is blind among us :

The falling inflection placed on blind, would imply,
that Justice is not only very lame, but even as lame as
she is blind. Thus ^Yt see the sense varies with the
different emphasis we adopt, and is never fully and
forcibly displayed without the kind of emphasis that
is peculiarly suited to it.

But it may be asked, since the sense must be fully
conceived before we can adapt the emphasis to the
words, of what use is it to ring all these changes upon
the different emphases, when, though we conceive
them ever so distinctly they will only suggest one
particular sense, but will never tell us which we
shall adopt as most suitable to the meaning of the
author. To this it may be answered, that whatever
tends to show the different import of each kind of em-
phasis, enables us the better to judge of the suitable-

ELOCUTION. 223

ncss or unsiiitableness of each emphasis to the sense.
This unfolding and displaying of what is suggested
by each emphasis is that assistimce to the under-
sfc.nding which spectacles are to the eye ; magnify-
ing glasses are not calculated for those whose powers
of sight are so strong and clear as to have no need of
them, nor for those who have no sight at all ; but
for such as wish to view objects distinctly, and
with less labour than without this assistance. Where
the sense is clear, we need no such assistance : but
where the sense is obscure and dubious, it can
scarcely be doubted that displaying and unfolding
it by such paraphrases as cU*e suggested by the ap-
plication of different kinds of emphasis, will tend
greatly to take away the ambiguity, will show which
kind of emphasis is most suitable to the sense, and
enable us to pronounce with greater confidence and
security.

From what has been said of the nature of em-
phasis, it will evidently follow, that pronunciation is
a kind of supplement to written language. As
vivacity and force depend greatly on brevity, and
brevity borders naturally on obscurity ; in order to
preserve the meaning without losing the force, pro-
nunciation interposes, and, as it were, supplies the
ellipsis in the written words, by a stress and inflection
of voice, which imply what belongs to the sense,
but which is not sufficiently obvious without oral
utterance. Hence we may conclude, that language
is never perfect till it is delivered. A just pronun-
ciation brings to view its latent and elliptical senses,
without clogging it with repetitions which would re-
tard its communication and enfeeble its strength.
Thus by pronouncing the following sentence : Ex-
ercise and temperance strengthen an indifferent con-
stitution : By pronouncing this sentence, I say, with
the falling inflection on the word indifferent^ I
convey as much to the understanding as if I had

224 ELEMENTS 01-

said, Exercise and temperance strengthen not on-
ly a common constitution^ but even an indifferent con-
stitution. And the inferiority of the latter sen-
tence, from its tautology and pleonastick tardiness,
sufficiently shows the necessity of a just pronuncia-
tion to supply the ellipses of written language.

Double Emphasis.

The double emphasis, as we have already observ-
ed in page 213, seems most frequently to be regulated
by the harmony of the sentence ; for as it is a general
rule, that the rising inflection must take place in the
middle of such a sentence, the second branch of the
first member must necessarily have the rising inflec-
tion, and the rest of the branches must have such an
emphasis and inflection as contribute most to the
harmony of the period. With this general rule, that
the two parts of the antithesis have each of them the
two diflferent inflections, arranged in an opposite or-
der ; that is, as two inflections in the same member
cannot be alike, if the second branch of the first mem-
ber has the rising, the first branch must, of course,
have the falling inflection ; and as the last branch of
the second member forms the period, and therefore re-
quires the falling, the first branch of this member
must necessarily have the rising inflection ; this is
the an-angement of inflection ^vhich seems universal-
ly adopted by the ear, as it will be found, upon ex-
periment, no other is so various and musical. An
example will soon convince us of tliis : i

The pleasures of the Imagination, taken in their full extent,
are not so gross as those of semet nor so refined as those of the
uttderstand'tng. - 5^frf. No. 411.

ELOCUTION. 225

In this example, the ear perceives the necessity of
adopting the rising inflection on the word sense;
and, for the sake of variety, lays the falling inflection
on gross; and, by the same anticipation, perceiving
the period must have the falling inflection on imag-
ination, adopts the rising inflection on refined; by
these means, the greatest variety is obtained, and the
sense inviolably preserved ;. for if we were to repeat
this passage with contrary inflections on the first
member, we should soon perceive the impropri-
ety :

The pleasures of the imagination, taken in their full extent,
are not so gross as those of senses nor so refined diS those of the «n-
derstanding.

Here we perceive the whole sentence is monoto-
nous, by adopting the same inflections in the same
order on the first and last members ; and the sense
is manifestly injured by laying the strong emphasis
and falling inflection in the middle of the sentence,
contrary to the general rule.

The nature of the double emphasis expressed, re-
jjpecting the inflection of voice which each antithetick
part adopts rather in compliance \\\x\\ the ear than
for the purpose of enforcing the sense, will be far-
ther illustrated by the treble empliasis.

Treble Emphasis.

The treble emphasis, where all the parts are ex-
pressed, occurs but seldom ; and when it does, there
is seldom any difficulty in pronouncing it ; for as
each part has its correspondent part expressed, there
is scarcely any necessity to enforce one more than
the other, and they easily fall into a just and har-
monious arrangement. Thus, in the following lines :
29

226 ELEMENTS OF

She in her girls again is courted;
r go a wooing with my boys:

Every emphatical word adopts that inflection
^vhich the harmony of the verse would necessarily
require, if there were not an emphatical word in the
^vhole couplet. This arrangement of emphatick in-
flections almost always takes place when every part
of the treble emphasis is expressed ; but when the
double emphasis has two of its parts so emphatical
as to imply two antithetick objects not expressed,
and so to form a treble emphasis implied only ; in
this case, I say, it is not so easily determined how
we are to place the emphatick inflections. Thus in
the following passage of Milton, f Paradise Losty
Book I. V. 262 J

To reign is worth ambition, though in hell ;

Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven : \

The words heaven and hell, in the last line, be-
sides the common antithesis which they form to
each other, seem to have each of them an antithetick
object distinct and separate, and so to form a treble
emphasis, instead of a double one ; for the empha-
sis with the falling inflection on hell, seems to inti-
mate, that to reign is so desirable, that it is better
to reign, not only where it is attended with its usual
cares, but even in hell, where it is attended with tor-
ments ; and the same emphatick inflection on heav-
en implies, that servitude is not only detestable
where it has its usual inconveniences, but even in
heaven, where it is attended with pleasures. These
paraphrases, implied by the emphases with the fall-
ing inflection, seem not only to agree with the sense
of the author, but necessarily to belong to it ; and
yet so agreeable is a contrary arrangement of inflec-
tion to the ear, that we seldom find this passage pro-
nounced in this manner.

ELOCUTION. 227

Let a whole assembly be desired to read tliese
lines in Milton, and a single person will scarcely be
found whose ear will not draw him into the common
arrangement of emphatick inflection, though contra-
ry to the strongest sense of the passage :

To reign is worth ambition, though in hell ;
Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.

Most readers, I say, in repeating these lines, will
pronounce the last line as it is marked ; that is, they
will lay the falling inflection on reign, and the rising
inflection on hell, in order to diversify it from the
two concluding branches of the antithesis ; that is,
the line will be exactly the same witli respect to in-
flection and emphasis, as the following :

Not so gross as those of senscf nor so refined as those of the
understanding.

But if we attend to the sense of Milton, we shall
find that the word hell, though in the middle of the
antithesis, seems necessarily to require the falling in-
flection ; for, as we have observed, Satan's ambition
to reign is so great, that he wishes to reign even in
hell ; that is, not where reigning has its usual cares
attending it, but even in hell, where it is accompanied
with torments suited to his superiour wickedness. If
we wish to convey this sense strongly, which the
words of the author will certainly admit of, we must
necessarily place the emphasis with the falling inflec-
tion on the word hell, and neglect the musick of the
line, which \vould require another arrangement : For
if it is an invariable maxim, that where force and har-
mony are inconsistent, the preference must be given
to the former ; without all question, this passage
ought to be read, not as it commonly is, in this man-
ner;

228 ELEMENTS OP

*To reign is worth ambition, though in hell ;
Belter to reign in hell than serve in heaven :

But in this :

To reign is worth ambition, though in hell ;
Better to r//f« in hell than serve in heaven.

An emphasis of exactly the same kind is found in
a saying of Julius Caesar, who, when he was passing
through an obscure village in Gaul, made use of
these words :

I would rather be the/trst man in that village tlian the ^ec-
ondm Rome.

The general harmony of pronunciation invariably
inclines us, at the first reading of this passage, to
lay the emphasis with the falling inflection on Jirst ;
that with the rising on village ; the rising likewise
on second^ and the falling on Rome ; but if we wish
strongly to enforce the sense of the words, we must
necessarily lay the rising inflection on Jirst, and the
falling on village, in the following manner :

I would rather be the/W man in that vWage than the see*
0oJin Rome.

Tor in this pronunciation we strongly enforce the
desire he had for superiority, by making him prefer
it, not only in a common place, but even it that villagCy
to inferiority, even in Rome. If this latter mode of
reading this sentence seems too turgid and emphatick
for the historick style, what are we to think of that
general rule that seems universally to be acknowl-
edged by all readers ; namely, that the sense of an
author ought always to be enforced to the utmost, let
the harmony be what it will ? This maxim, howev-

^ Mr. Garrick, upon being asked to read these lines, repeated them
at first in the former mode of placing the emphatick inflections; bm» up-.
on re-considering them, approved of the latter.

ELOCUTION. 229^

er, I take to be rashly adopted ; for, as we have be-
fore observed, reading seems to be a compromise be-
tween the rights of sense and sound. Obscurity is
the greatest possible defect in reading ; and no har-
mony whatever will make amends for it : But if the
sense of a passage be sufficiently clear, it seems no
infringement on the rights of the understanding to
give this sufficiently clear sense an harmonious utter-
ance. In this case, it is, perhaps, necessary to dis-
tinguish between clear sense and strong sense ; the
first is that which puts the author's meaning beyond
the possibility of mistake ; the latter, as it were, adds
something to it, and places the sense in such a point
of view as to give it, though not a different, yet a
greater force than what the words immediately sug-
gest ; but if this additional force becomes harsh,
quaint, or affected, the ear claims her rights in favour
of harmony ; and good taste will always admit her
claim, when the rights of the understanding are suf-
ficiently secured.

Thus, in that noble sentiment of Cato :

A day, an hour, of virtuous liberty
Is worth a whole eternity of bondage.

To pronounce this passage with the greatest force,
we ought to lay the emphasis with the falling inflec-
tion on eternity^ as this would suggest a paraphrase
perfectly illustrative of the sense, wluch is, that a day
or an hour of virtuous liberty is not only worth more
than the lo7igest jinite duration in bondage, but even
a whole eternity. This pronunciation, however,
w^ould necessarily give the rising inflection to bond-
age, which would conclude the passage so inharmo-
niously, that the ear finds itself obliged to neglect this
so forcible expression, and content itself with plac-
ing the rising inflection on eternity, for the sake of the
harmony of the cadence : and as the plain import of

230 ELEMEIfTS OF

the word eternity is sufficiently strong and emphatic-
al, sense is no great loser by the sacrifice : If, how-
ever, the thought could have been so disposed as to
have made a word, so susceptible of force as eternity^
adopt the falling inflection and conclude the line, the
expression, it is presumed, would have been still
stronger. Let us suppose, for instance, the two last
Imes had stood thus :

A day, an hour. In virtuous liberty
Outweighs, in bondage, an eternity :

I do not contend that this alteration is not greatly in-
feriour to the original in point of composition, from
the necessity of adopting words less suitable ; but, I
think, I may appeal to the ear of every critical speak-
er for the superiority of the latter, with respect to
the force and harmony of pronunciation. In the
same manner, it may be observed, that if the words
in Milton were transposed as in the following line,

Better in hell to reign, than se'rve in heirv'»i

the falling inflection on hell, and the rising on reigriy
would preserve both the force and harmonj^ ; but I
am far from presuming to judge whether the line
would be better by this alteration. The same may
be observed in the transposition of the saying of
Csesar :

In that village I would rather be the fmt man, than the
second in Rome,

By this arrangement, we see the strongly emphatick
words, which require the falling inflection, are in the
beginning and end of the sentence, and the two em-
phatick words that require the rising inflection in the
middle ; and, consequently, the inflections on the
two first and two last emphatick words are in a differ-
ent order.

ELOCUTION. 4S1

But if a ti'eble emphasis implied will often, for the
sake of harmony, neglect such an emphasis as pro-
duces the greatest force, there is a much greater ne-
cessity for this sacrifice to sound where every part of
the treble emphasis is expressed. Thus, in the fol-
lowing lines :

He raised a mortal to the sJ^tes. /
She drew an angel down.

If, for the sake of showing that Timotheus did not
only raise a mortal very high, but even to the skies ;
if, I say, for the sake of intimating this sense, we lay
the emphasis with the falling inflection on skies, we
shall ruin the harmony of the couplet : The same
may be observed if we lay the same emphasis on c;z-
gel ; for though this would intimate that St. Cecilia
did not draw down a common being, but even an
angel, yet this intimation would make no amends for
the quaintness and discord this inflection would oc-
casion ; but if these lines had been so constructed as
to admit of the emphasis with the falling inflection on
these words, perhaps we should not have found either
sense or harmony the worse for it.

He to the sUles a mortal raised,
An angel she drew down.

Thus we perceive there are some things clear and de-
cided, others ambiguous and indeterminate : The
best decision in the latter case is, to observe the pro-
nunciation of the best readers and speakers, and to
murk it by the inflections which are here made use of.
A notation of this kind, will enable us to collect ex
amples of different modes of pronunciation, and to
form an opinion from examples of the best authority :
by this means we shall be able to gi^ e some stabili-
ty to those sounds '.^ hi h have hithci to been thoui^ht
too fleeting and evanescent for retrospection.

232 £L£M£NTS 0^

' General Emphasis*

Hitherto emphasis has been considered as ap-
propriated to a particular word in a sentence, the pe-
culiar sense of which demanded an increase of force,
and an inflection correspondent to that sense ; we
shall now endeavour to throw some light upon that
emphatick force, which, when the composition is very-
animated, and approaches to a close, we often lay
upon several words in succession : This successive
emphatick force does not, like the former, suggest any
particular meaning excludedJby it, and therefore may
not improperly be called a general emphasis. This
emphasis is not so much regulated by the sense of
the author as by the taste and feelings of the reader,
and therefore does not admit of any certain rule ; but
as it is very strong and energctick when it is happily
applied, it may not be useless to endeavour to give
such rules as will naturally arise from a few ex-
amples.

When Lucius, in Cato, seems to have exhausted
every topick in favour of giving up a hopeless war
and submitting to Caesar, he concludes with tliis em-
phatick period :

What men could do,
Is done already : Heav'n and earth will witness,
I' f Rome must full, that we are innocent.

The common manner of pronouncing this last line is,
to lay an emphasis with the rising inflection on the
word must, which is certainly a very just one, and
may be called the particulai* emphasis ; but if
we were to place an emphasis on each of the
four words, jf Rome must fall ; that is, the em-
phasis with the lising inflection on if, that with the
ikiling on Rome and must, and the rising on fall ;

ELOCUTION. 233

if these emphases, I say, are pronounced with a dis-
tinct pause after each, it is inconceivable the force
that will be given to these few words.

In the same manner, when Demosthenes is de-
scribing the former helpless state of Athens, he
says,

There was a time, then, my fellow-citizens, when the La-
cedemonians were sovereign masters both by sea and land ;
when their troops and Torts surrounded the entire circuit of At-
tica ; when they possessed Euboea, Tanagra, the whole Boeotian
district, Megara, iEgina, Cleone, and the other islands ; while
this state had not one ship, not one wall.

The general mode of pronouncing the last mem-
ber of this sentence is, to lay an emphasis on the last
word, wall : This is unquestionably proper ; but if
we lay an emphasis on the tlirce last words, that is, the
falling on noty the rising on owe, and the falling on
wall, and pause very distinctly between each, we shall
be at no loss to decide on the superiority of this gen-
eral emphasis. We have another instance of the force
of this general emphasis, in that beautiful climax of
Zanga, in tlie tragedy of the Revenge :

Tiiat's truly q;reat ! what think you 'twas set up
The Grefk and Roman name in such a lustre.
But do'v!' right in stern d'.'spite of nature,
Shutting their ears to all her little cries,
When PTcat, august, and godlike justice call'd.
At \uiis one pour'd out a daughter's life,
And gain'd more glory than by all his wars ;
Another slew a sister in just rage ;
A third, the rhene of all succeeding time.
Gave to the criu-l axe a darling son :
Nay more, for justice some devote themselves.
As he at Carthage, an immortal name !
Yet there 's oms.'j) L-ft above them all.
Above their history, above their fable ;
A tulfef bride, int stress, unenjoyed.

Do that, and tread upon the Greek and Roman glory.

Act iv. Scene last.

234 ELEMENTTS OF

In pronouncing this passage, xve shall find the gen-
erality of readers content themselves with laying an
emphasis upon the v^ord one in the thirteenth line,
and pronounce the two succeeding words step and
left without any particular force ; but if we give em-
phatick force to each of these three words, and at the
same time pause considerably after every word, we
shall find the whole line glow with meaning and
energy : few though pronouncing the word one with
the emphasis and rising inflection, and the succeed-
ing words step and left with the same inflection, with-
out emphasis, would undoubtedly bring out the au-
f tlior's sense ; yet pronouncing dne and step both with
f emphasis and the falling inflection, seems to snatch a
\ grace beyond the reach of art, and fall in with the
enthusiasm of the poet. The emphasis with the fall-
ing inflection and increasing force, on the four suc-
cessive words wife, bride, Tmstress, unenjbyed, in the
last line but one, crowns the whole climax with suita-
ble force and harmony.

But though general emphasis may, at first sight,
seem to be an exception to the general rule, yet, upon
a nearer inspection, it will be found strictly con-
formable to it. Emphasis has been defined to be
another word for opposition or contradistinction ;
now where, it may be asked, is the opposition or
contradistinction to the words if and Rome and fall
iu the sentence,

Heav'n and earth will witness^
If Rome must fall, that we are innocent ?

It may be answered, that the mind, in endeavour-
ing to express things strongly, seems to have re-
course to a redundancy of sound as well as of words ;
the adjective own and the substantive self are super-
fluous words, if we regard only their mere grammat-
ical import. For the sentences, this book is mine,
and / ivrote it, literally signify as much as this book

ELOCUTION. 235

is my own^ and / xvrote it myself; but the latter sen-
tences may be said to be emphatical, and the for-
nrer not. To the same end our language has adopt-
ed an auxiliary verb, to express action or passion
with emphasis, in a shorter way than perhaps in any
other tongue. Thus, when Othello says to Desde-
mona —

Perdition catch my soul, but 1 do love thee —

it is equivalent to saying, / actually and really love
thee^ — in contradistinction to the appearance of love,
which so often supplies the place of the reality : and
this seems to lead us to the latent antithesis of the
general emphasis, which is, the appearance^ as dis-
tinguished from the reality or the similitude^ from
the identity ; and therefore, though the words if^
Rome, 3Jid Jail, taken separately, have no direct an-
tithetick ideas, yet, when united together by succes-
sive emphases, they imply a reality and identity of
situation in opposition to every possible contrary
situation, which contrary situation becomes the real
antithetick object of the emphatick words, and thus
brings the general emphasis under tlie same defini-
tion as particular emphasis, and shows that both are
but other words for opposition, contradistinction, or
contrast.

From this view of emphasis, we may perceive the
propriety of laying a stress upon some of the most
insignificant words when the language is impassion'^
ed, in order to create a genend force, which suffi-
ciently justifies the seeming impropriety. Thus, in
the following sentence — The very man whom he had
loaded with favours was the first to accuse him — a
stress upon the word man will give considerable
force to the sentence — the very man, Sec. If to tlie
stress on this word we give one to the ^vord very,
the force will be considerably increased — the veri^

236 ELEMENTS OP

W2«;?, &c. But if to these words we unite a stress
on the word the^ the emphasis will then attain its ut-
most pitch, and be emphatick, as it may be called,
in the superlative degree — the very man, h.c. And
this general emphasis, it may be observed, has iden-
tity for its object, the antithesis to which is appear-
ance, similitude, or the least possible diversity.

t Intermediate or Elliptical Member.

It now remains to say sometliing of an emphatick
circumstance, which, though not mentioned by any
of our writers on the subject, seems of the utmost
importance to an accurate idea of pronunciation.

It has been already observed, that emphatick force
is relative : It may be likewise observed, that it is
not relative onXy with respect to the inferiour force
which is given to the unemphatick words ; it is re-
lative, also, with respect to the inflection on those
words that are not emphatical ; that is, emphasis de-
rives as much force from pronouncing those words
which are not emphatical with a peculiar inflection,
as it does from pronouncing the emphatick words
themselves with a suitable inflection and greater force.
Let us endeavour to illustrate this by an example :

Must we, in your person, croivn the author of the publick ca-
lamities, or must we destroy him ?

^s chines against Demosthenes.

Here, I say, in order to preserve to the two emphatic-
al words, crown and destroy , that force which the con-
trast demands, we must necessarily pronounce the
intermediate member, the author of the publick calam-
ities., with the rising inflection, like crown^hut in a fee-
bler, though higher tone of voice : This mode of pro-
nunciation places the opposite parts in full view,which
would be necessarily obscured, if the words author

. ELOCUTION. SS7

of the publick calamities had the same portion of force
and variety as the rest ; so that this member, which
may not improperly be called the elliptical member,
has exactly that inflection and that feebleness which
it would have, if it had been repeated, at the end of
the sentence, in this manner :

Must we, in your person, crown the author of the publick ca-
lamities ? or must we destroy tlie author of the publick calami-
ties ?

This will be farther illustrated by another exam-
ple :

It Is not he who hath strengthened our fortifications, who
hath digged our intrenchments, who hath disturbed the tombs
of our ancestors, that should demand the honours of a patrio't
minister, but he who hath procured some intrinsick services to
the state.

Here the intermediate member, tJuit sliould demand
the honours of a patriot minister^ which agrees both
with the positive and negative part of the sentence,
must be pronounced in subordination to the word
ancestors ; that is, as tliis word has the emphasis
with the rising inflection, according to the general
rule, the interm.ediate member must have the rising
inflection likewise, in a higher and feebler tone of
voice, and without any peculiar force upon any of
the words.

Another example will render this rule still clearer :

A good man will love himself too well to lose an estate by
gaming, and his neighbour too well to win one.

In this sentence, as in the two former, there are two
principal constructive parts ; and between these pails
tiiere is a member which relates to both, and must be
pronounced in subordination to both, else the force
of each \\\\i be lost. This member is, an estate by
gaming ; die first principal constructive part of this

^^ ELEBliNT^ OF

sferitehc^ ^^rid^ vfiih the emphatick word lose ; and ais
its connection \vith the latter constructive part neces-
sarily requires that it should be pronounced with the
rising inflection, every word of the intermediate mem-
ber which follows it must be pronounced with the
rising inflection likewise : for if any emphasis or va-
riety of inflection be given to this member, it will in-
fallibly deprive the correspondent antithetick words,
himself^ lose^ neighbour^ and wm, of all their force and
harmony. Every word of this middle member,
therefore, must be pronounced with the rising inflec-
tion, in a somewhat higher tone than the word lose,
and nearly approaching a monotone. On the con-
trary, if we were to place this member at the end of
the sentence, in this manner,

A good man will love himself too well to lose, and his
«eighbour too well to win, an estate by gaming —

In this arrangement, in order to give force and vari-
ety to the correspondent emphatick words, the same
inflections must take place as before ; that is, himself
must have the falling, lose the rising, neighbour the
rising, and win the failing inflection : and to preserve
this order, which can alone give the sentence its due
precision, the last member, an estate by ga?ning,
must be pronounced with the same inflection as the
word winj but in a lower tone of voice, and appoach-
ing to a monotone ; for if any force or variet}' is giv-
en to these words, it must necessarily be at the ex-
pense of those that are alone entitled to it. The bad
effect, indeed, of pronouncing so many words at the
end of a sentence in so low and feeble a tone, is apt
to invite the ear to a different pronunciation at first ;
but a moment's reflection on the sense will induce us
rather to dispense with the want of sound than of
meaning. The first of these forms of arranging the
words is indisputably the best ; and writers would
do well to make it a rule in composition, never to

ELOCUTION. $jflSt

finish a sentence with a member that relates to each
part of a preceding antithesis ; a neglect of this rule
occasions many uncouth sentences even in our best
autliOrs.

Mr. Addison, speaking of the power of the imagi-
nation, says,

It would be vain to inquire whether the power of imagining
things strongly proceeds from any greater perfection in the
soul, or from any nicer texture in the brain of one man than of
another. Spectator ^ No. 417»

In this sentence, in order to present each part of
the antithesis, soul mid brainy clearly and precisely
to the mind, it will be necessary to confine the em-
phatick force to these words alone ; and this can be
done no other way than by laying the rising inflection,
on soul^ and the falling on brain^ and pronouncing the
last member, of one man than of another, with the
same inflection as brain, but in a lower and almost
monotonous tone of voice ; this will necessarily give
an uncouthness to the sound of the sentence, but is
absolutely necessary to give the sense of it strongly
and clearly.

It is true, that by this mode of pronunciation the
intermediate member is presented less clearly to the
mind ; but when we consider that the sense of it is
nearly anticipated by the comparative greater and
nicer, we shall, with less reluctiince, give it up to the
principal emphatick words, soul and brain.

It must not be dissembled, however, that if this-
intermediate member contains an emphatical word,
or extends to any length, it will be necessary to con-
sider it as an essential member of the sentence, and to
pronounce it with emphasis and variety. Thus, if
the sentence just quoted had been constructed in
this manner :

A good man will love himself too well to lose, and his
neighbour too well to win, a very considerable sum by gaming.

240 ELEMEJTTS 01'

If, in reading this sentence, we were to place the
emphasis with the rising inflection on lost\ and the
falhng on wm, and were to pronounce the rest of the
sentence in a low monotonous tone of voice,
in the same manner as when it contained but half
the number of syllables, we should be both obscure
and discordant ; but, as the last member is lengthen-
ed to double the number of syllables, we find it may
be so pronounced as to form an harmonious cadence.
Another example will show the necessity of some-
times breaking the general rule. Mr. Addison,
speaking of the mutual polish and refinement which
the intercourse between the sexes gives each other,
concludes,

In a word : a man would not only be an unhappy, but a
rude unfinished creature, were he conversant with none but
those of his own make. Spect. No. 433.

Here we find the intermediate member close the sen-
tence, and is of such a length as to forbid the feeble
monotone which is proper in other cases. It may
not, however, be useless to observe, that when these
intermediate members aie so long, or of so much
importance as to demand an emphatical pronun-
ciation, the antithesis is in some measure obscur-
ed, and the sentence is deprived of spirit and
vivacity.

Before we conclude this aiticle, we may observe,
that the emphasis on opposite parts, which obscures
the intermediate member, is calculated more for the
porposes of force than harmon}', and therefore ought
to be observed with less rigour in verse than prose ;
but where the former is familiar, argumentative, and
strongly emphatical, it seems to require the obscure
pronunciation of the intermediate member no less
than tlie latter.

fiLOdUTION. g4J

EXAMPLE.

'Tishard to say if greater want of skill
Appear in writing or in judging ill :
But of the two less dangerous is th' offence.
To tire our patience than mislead our sense ;
Some few in that, but numbers err in this.
Ten censure wrong for one who writes amiss ;
A fool might once himself alone expose,
Now one in verse makes many more in prose.

Popis Essay on Crit.

In the first couplet of this passage, the word z7/, which
agrees to both the emphatick words writing and
Judging, is pronounced feebly with the falling in-
flection, after a strong pronunciation of the same
inflection on Judging. In the next couplet, tire and
patience, mislead, and sense, form a double empha-
sis, and come under the general rule ; but in the
next couplet, the words wrong said amiss, being
only diflferent expressions for the same idea, are to
be considered as an intennediate member to the two
emphatick words censure and write, and pronounced
feebly ^vith the same inflections as the words they
follow.*

From what has been said on this article, it ap-
pears of how much importance to reading and

• In the 6rst edition of this work I had not siifEriently considered the
nature ©f unaccented words, and, therefore, gave them the very vag-ue
and indefinite appellations I met with in otiier authors, namely obfcure ,ind
feeble ; a farther prosecution of the subject in the Rhetorical Grammar
enabled me to ascertain the real force of these unaccented wcrds, and to
class them with the unaccented syllsbles of acceated words.. Thus a clear
and definite idea was substituted for an indetermin.ite and obscure one ;
And I could, with confidence, tell my pupil that the sentence,

" I do not, so much request, as demand your attention,"

was pronounced like three words ; I do «'/, like a word of three syllable.'!,
with the accent on the second ; so much request, like a word of four
syllables, with the accent on the list and as demand your aiientkn
?it:e a word of seven syllable?, with the accent on the third. See p. l?r;

.31

242 ELEMENTS Of

speaking is a judicious distribution of emphasis ; and
if what has been observed be true, it is evident
how useful, and even necessary it must be, in
teaching, to adopt something Hke the method of
marking them here pointed out. Methods of this
kind are usually rejected, because at first they are
found rather to embarrass than assist the reader ;
but this will be found to be the case in every art
where improvement arises chiefly from habit : The
principles of musick would embarrass and puzzle a
performer who had learned only from the ear, but
nothing but a knowledge of these principles could
convey to him the difficult passages of a composer,
and enable him to acquire them without the assist-
ance of a teacher. Reading, indeed, may be con-
sidered as a species of musick ; the organs of ut-
terance are the instruments, but the mind itself is
the performer ; and, therefore, to pursue the simili-
tude, though the mind may have a full conception of
the sense of an author, and be able to judge nicely
of the execution of others, yet if it has not im-
bibed the habit of performing on its own instru-
i ment, no expression will be produced. There is a
/ certain mechanical dexterity to be acquired before
the beautiful conceptions we possess can be com-
municated to others. This mechanism is an essen-
tial part of all the fine- arts. Nothing but habitual
practice will give the musician his neatness of exe-
cution, the painter his force of colouring, and even
the poet the happiest choice and arrangement of his
words and thoughts. How, then, can we expect
that a luminous and elegant expression in reading
and speaking can be acquired without a similar
attention to habitual practice ? This is the gold-
en key to every excellence, but can be purchased
only by labour, unremitting labour, and perse-
verance.

ELOCUTION. 243

Harmonick Inflection.

Besides that variety which necessarily arises
from an attention to the foregoing rules, that is, from
annexing certain inflections to sentences of a particu-
lar import or structure, there is still another source
of variety, in those parts of a sentence where the
sense is not at all concerned, and where the variety
is merely to please the ear. < It is certain, that if the
sense of a sentence be strongly conveyed, it will sel-
dom be inharmoniously pronounced ; Vbut it is as
certain, there are many members of sentences which
may be differently pronounced without aifecting the
sense, but which cannot be differently pronounced
without greatly affecting their variety and harmony.
Thus in the following sentence :

As we perceive the shadow to have moved along the diaf-
plate, but did not perceive it moving ; and it appears that the
grass has grown, though nobody ever saw it grow : so the
advances we make in knowledge, as they consist of such mi-
nute steps, are only perceivable by the distance.

In this sentence, provided we do not drop the
voice before the end, the sense of the sentence is not
at all concerned in any of the inflections, except that
on groxv in the middle, which must necessarily be
the rising, and that on distance at the end, which
must be the falling inflection : if these inflections are
preserved on these words, the rest may take their
chance, and the sense will be scarcely affected ; but
the dullest car must perceive an infinite advantage
to the harmony in placing the falling inflection on
gro7i'7i in the first part of the sentence, and on knowl-
edge in the last : and so natural is this pronunciation,
that there are few readers so bad as not to place these
inflections on these \\-ords without any other guide
than the ear.

244 ELEMENTS OF

This part of pronunciation, therefore,^ thougli of
little importance to the sense, is of the utmost im-
portance to the harmony of a sentence. Every writ-
er on the subject has left it entirely to tlie ear ; and,
indeed, so nice are the principles on which harmony
and variety in pronunciation depend, that it is no
wonder any analysis of it has been shifted off, and
classed among those things for which it is utterly
impossible to give rules. * But, as we have often ob-
served, though the varieties of voice, in other re-
spects, are almost infinite, all these varieties are still
reducible to two radical and essential differences, the
upward and downward slide or inflection ; and there-
fore, though the high and low, the loud and soft, the
the quick and slow, the forcible and feeble, admit of
almost infinite degrees, every one of these difteren-
ces and degrees must either adopt the rising or fall-
ing inflection of voice ; and these inflections being
more essential to the sense and harmony than any,
or all the other differences, we have, in the distinc-
tion of the voice into the rising and falling inflection,
a key to part of the harmony and variety so much
admired, and, it may be added, a very essential part. '
If, therefore, no rules could be given to the applica-
tion of these inflections to the purposes of harmony
and variety, the practicability of mailing upon paper
those which are actually made use of by good read-
ers and speakers, would be of the utmost importance
to elocution ; but in this, as well as in other cases,
an attempt will be made to mark out some rules,
which it is hoped will not be entirely useless.

Preliminary Observatio?is.

When similar members of sentences do not run
into such a series, as brings them into the enumera-
tive form ; the voice, both to relieve the ear, and im-

ELOCUTION. 245

press the sense, falls naturally into a succession of
inflections, which is something similar to that used
in the series, and at once gives force and vai'iety :
these inflections sometimes take place at the begin-
ning of a sentence, where the members are similar ;
but most commonly near the end, when the sentence
is concluding with several similar members, which,
without tliis inflection on some particular words,
would disgust the ear by a succession of similar
sounds. This inflection from the obvious use of it,
we may call the Harmonick Inflection.

Difficult, and, perhaps, impossible as it is to de-
scribe sounds upon paper to those ^vho are wholly un-
acquainted with them, the task is not quite so ardu-
ous when we address those who have a general idea
of what we attempt to convey. If the nature of the
rising and falling inflections has been sufficiently con-
ceived, the use of them in this particular wiU^^^
easily pointed out. The harmonick inflection then is,
using the rising and falling inflection of the voice up-
on successive words, principally to please the ear,
and break a continued chain of similar pauses :\ ion
the rising inflection of the voice has nothing emphat-
ical in' it, nor the falling any thing concluding. As
this latter inflection, and the small pause that accom-
panies it, often takes place on words that are imme-
diately connected in sense with what follows, it seems
barely a resting place for the voice and ear, and such
an enforcing of the sense as naturally arises from a
more deliberate pronunciation of the words. That
the voice may be in the falling inflection without
marking a conclusion in the sense, and even while it
excites expectation of something to follow, is evident
from the pronunciation of the first member of a se-
ries ; but this falling inflection of the voice is essen-
tially different from that which we commonly use
Nvhen we conclude a sentence ; for, in the former
case, as has been already observed, the voice is pal

246 * ELEMENTS OF

pably raised higher than on the preceding words,
though ending with the faUing inflection ;* in the lat-
ter it falls gradually lower on several of the preced-
ing words, and may properly be said to drop. An
example will contribute greatly to the comprehend-
ing of this marking inflection, so necessary to the va-
riety and harmony of a sentence.

We may observe, that any single circumstance of what we
have formerly seen often raises up a whole scene of imagery,
and awakens numberless ideas that before slept in the imagina-
tion ; such a particular smell or colour is able to fill the mind
on a sudden with a picture of the fields or gardens where we
first met with it ; and to bring up into •bte'tUj al' the variety of
images that once attended it. Spectator y No. 4 17.

We may here observe, that the former part of this
passage has a succession of similar pauses till it
comes to the semicolon, (which from the complete
sense it forms might as well have been marked by a
colon), and that the succeeding part of the sentence
runs exactly into the same succession of similar paus-
es : which, if pronounced exactly ahke, would offend
the ear by a monotony. A good reader, therefore,
solicitous to avoid a sameness of sound, throws his
voice into the rising inflection upon brings and into
the falling upon vierw^ by which means a variety is
introduced, and the period ends more harmoniously
from the preparation made for it by the harmonick in-
flection.

Another instance where this inflection may be
repeated successively, is, perhaps, better calculated
to convey an idea of it :

We may learn from this observation which we have made
on the mind of man, to take particular care, when we have
once settled in a regular course of life, how we too frequently
indulge ourselves in any of the most innocent diversions and
entertainments j since the mind may insensibly fall off from

* See Part I. p. 90, 150.

ELOCUTIOK. 247

the relish of virtuous actions, and by degrees exchange that
^ pleasure, which it takes in the performance of its duty, for de-
lights of a much more inferiour and unprofitable nature.

Spect. No. 447.

In this example, we have the same succession of
. similar pauses as in the last ; and though the voice
may very properly fix itself in the falling inflection
on the word entertainment Sy and by that means oc-
casion some variety, yet the subsequent part of the
period proceeds by similar pauses as well as the
former ; and therefore, the harmonick inflection in-
troduced upon the words degrees and exchange, and
upon that and pleasure, that is, the rising inflection
upon degrees and that, and the falling inflection
upon exchange and pleasure ; by this means, I say,
the monotony will be broken, the thought enforc-
ed, and the period rendered much more musical.
One example more, where this inflection may be
oftener repeated, will still better enable us to show the
real nature and use of it :

I must confess I think it below reasonable creatures to be al-
together conversant in such diversions as are merely innocent,
and have nothing else to recommend them but that there is
no hurt in them. Whether any kind of gaming has even this
much to say for itself, I shall not determine ; but I think it
very wonderful to see persons of the best sense passing away a
dozen hours together in shuffling and dividing a pack of cards,
with no other conversation but what is made up of a few game
phrases, and no other ideas, but those of black and red spots
ranged together in different figures. Spect, No. 93.

The necessity of introducinq: the harmonick inflec-
tion in the latter part of this sentence will better ap-
pear, by first reading it in the common manner, and
afterwards a\ ith the inflection we have been describ-
ing : this will show the difiiiilty of avoiding a mo-
notony without adopting this inflection, and the
\ariety and force it gives to the language and sen-
timent when it is adopted- The ^vords de\t and ^rnsr ;

248 ^ ELEMENTS OF

passing imdawat/; dozefi and together; shuffling Bnd
dividing ; other and conversation ; what and made uf) ;
these words, I say, will be very apt to drag, and pro-*
duce a sameness of sound if pronounced in the com-
^ mon way ; but if the rising inflection is used on the
first, and the falling on the last, of every pair, the
monotony will be prevented, and a succession of
sounds introduced, very descriptive of the repetition
conveyed by the words.

But the great object of the harmonick inflection is
forming the cadence : here it is, that harmony and va-
riety ai'e more peculiarly necessary, as the ear is more
particularly affected by the close of a subject, or any
branch of a subject, than by any other part of the com-
position. We have had frequent occasion to observe,
that though a series of sentences may all require to
be pronounced with the falling inflection ; yet if they
all belong to one subject, or one branch of a subject,
usually called a paragraph, that the last of them only-
demands that depression of voice which marks a con-
clusion : to which observation we may add this gen-
eral rule.

Rule I. When a series of similar sentences, or
members of sentences, form a branch of a subject
or pai'agraph ; the last sentence or member must
fall gradually into a lower tone, and adopt the har-
monick inflection, on such words as form the most
figreeable cadence.

EXAMPLES.

One of the most eminent mathematicians of the age has as-
sured me, that the greatest pleasure he took in reading Virgil
was in examining iEne^s's voyage by the map ; as I question
not but many a modern compiler of history would be delight-
ed with little more in that divine author than in the bare mat-
ters of fact. Spectator, No. 109.

Here we find placing the rising inflection upon the
word little J and the falling upon more ; imd the fall-

ELOCUTION-. S49

iiig upon divine^ and the rising upon author ^ gives
both a distinctness and harmony to the cadence.

Gratian very often recommends the fine taste as the utmost
perfection of an accomplished man. As this word arises very
often in conversation, I shall endeavour to give some account
of it ; and to lay down rules how we may know whether we
are possessed of it, and how we may acquire that fine taste of
writing, which is so much talked of among the polite world.

Spect. No. 109.

Placing the rising inflection upon how, and the
falUng upon acquire ; the falling inflection upon^w^,
and the rising upon writing, prevents a sameness
which would otherwise arise from the similitude of
the three members, and gives an agreeable close to
the sentence.

Since I have mentioned this unaccountable zeal which ap-
pears in atheists and infidels, I must farther observe, that they
are likewise in a most particular manner possessed with the
spirit of bigotry. They are wedded to opinions full of contra*
diction and impossibility, and at the same time look upon the
smallest difficulty in an article of faith as a sufficient reason for
rejecting it. S/)ect. No. 185.

As the rising inflection on the word wedded, and
the falling on the word opinions, the falling on contra-'
diction, and the rising on impossibility, prevents a
sameness in the first member of the last sentence
arising from its similitude to the closing member of
the first ; so the rising inflection upon the words
same and smallest, and the falling upon time and dij*-
ficulty, and the falling upon article, and the rising
upon faith; this arrangement of inflections, I say, on
the latter part of the sentence, gives a force, harmony,
and variety, to the cadence.

We may be sure the metaphorical word taste would not
have been so general in all tongues, had there not been a very
great conformity between that mental taste, which is the sulr-

:\^2

250 ELEMENTS OF

ject of this paper, and that sensitive taste which gives us a rel-
ish of every different flavour thai affects the pa': ate Accord-
ingly we find, there are as many degrees of refinement in the
intellectual faculty, as in the sense which is marked out by
this common denomination. Sped. No. 409.

If we do but place the rising inflection on accord-
ingly ^ and the falling on Jind^ the rising on many^ and
the falling on refinement^ in the last sentence, we
shall perceive a great variety, as well as harmony add-
ed to the whole passage.

Harmony of Prose.

The foregoing observations on the hanngny_of the
cadeflce, have, undoubtedly, suggested to the read-
er that great object of ancient and modem composi-
tion, the harmony of prose : this is a subject so inti-
mately connected with harmonious pronunciation,
that it seems necessary to investigate the principles of
that composition which is generally esteemed har-
monious, in order, if possible, to throw some light
upon the most accurate mode of delivering it.

The ancients thought harmonious prose to be on-
ly a looser kind of numbers, and resolved many pas-
sages of their most celebrated orations into such feet
as composed verse. In modem languages, where
accent seems to stand for the quantity of the an-
cients, (we find harmonious prose resolvable into an
arrangement of accented syllables, somewhat similar
to that of versification. The return of the accented
syllable, at certain intervals, seems the common defi-
nition of both.

In verse we find diese intervals nearly equal ; and
it is this equality which foniis the measure. Thus
in the folloAving couplet :

ELOCUTION. 251

Short is the date, alas ! of modern rhymes ;

And 'tis but just to let them live betimes. Pope.

Ar undisciplined reader, in pronouncing this sen-
tence, would be apt, from the greater smoothness of
the line, to lay the accent, or metrical emphasis, as it
may be called, on the word is in the first line ; but
as this would bring forward a word which, from its
nature, is always sufficiently understood, a good
reader will pl^ce the accent on short and date^ and
sink the words is the into a comparative obscurity ;
and as this interval of two syllables happens at the
beginning of a line, it is so far from having a bad ef-
fect on the ear, that it frequently relieves it from the
too great sameness to which rhyming verse is al-
ways liable.

But if this inequality of interval is sometimes, for
the sake of variety, iiecessary in verse, it is not to be
ivondered, that, for a similar reason, we avoid as much
as possible too great a I'cgularity of interval between
the accented syllables in prose. Loose and negli-
gent, however, as prose may appear, it is not entire-
ly destitute of measure : for it may be with confi-
dence asserted, that, wherever a style is remarkably
smooth and flowing, it is owing in some measure to
a regular retuni of accented syllables. And though
a btrengtli and severity of style has in it something
more excellent than the soft and flowing, yet the lat-
ter holds certainly a distinguished rank in composi-
tion. The musick of hmguage never displeases us,
but when sense is sacrificed to sound ; when both
are compatible, we should deprive a thought of half
its beauty, not to give it all the harmony of which
language is susceptible. As all subjects ai'e not mas-
culiiie, sublime, and strong; all subjects do not re-
quire, and indeed are not susceptible of a strength
and severity of style. Those, therefore, which are
beautiful, didactick and persuasive, demand a smooth-
ness and elegance of language ; which is not only

252 ELEMENTS OF

agreeable, as it is suited to the objects it conveys,
but, like fine colours or sounds, is, in some measure,
pleasing for its own sake. Accordingly, we find,
that, though we cannot so easily trace that accentual
rhythmus which forms the harmony of the beginning
and middle of a sentence, yet the latter part, or what
is commonly called the cadence, consists (when har-
moniously constructed) of such an arrangement of
accented words as approaches nearly to verse. Ev^
cry ear will immediately find a ruggedness and want
of harmony in the conclusion of the following sen-
tence :

We are always complaining our days are few, and acting as
though there would be no end of them. jiddison.

The reason of this harshness seems to be, that
vast chasm of unaccented words that extends from
the word acting to the word end. The ear, indeed,
sensible of the want of accent, lays a little stress upon
though : but this does not quite remedy the evil :
still there are four words unaccented, and the sen-
tence remains harsh : but if we alter its structure, by
placing a word that admits of an accent in the mid-
dle of these four words, we shall find harmony suc-
ceed to harshness and inequality.

We are always complaining our days are few, and acting as
though there would never be an end of them.

This difference, therefore, can arise from nothing
but an unequal and unmetrical arrangement of ac-
cent in the former sentence, and a greater approach
to equal and metrical arrangement of accent in the
latter.

As a farther corroboration of the truth of this
opinion, let us take a sentence remarkable for its har-
mony, and try whether it arises from the foregoing
principles.

ELOCUTION. '253

We hear at this distance but a faint echo of that thunder in
Demosthenes,which shook the throne of Macedon to its founda-
tions ; and are sometimes at a loss for that conviction in the ar-
guments of Cicero, which balanced in the midst of convulsions
the tottering republic k of Rome.

In the hitter part of this sentence, we find the ac-
cented syllables at exactly equal intervals from the
word sometimes to the word midst ; that is, there
iu-e three unaccented syllables between every accent-
ed syllable : and from the word midst to the word
JRoine^ there is an exact equality of intervals ; that is,
two unaccented syllables, or, which is perfectly-
equivalent, syllables pronounced in the time of two,
to one unaccented.

Now, if we change a few of the words of this sen-
tence to others of different length and accent, we shall
find the harmony of the sentence considerably dimin-
ished, though the sense may be inviolably preserved.

We hear at this distance but a faint echo of that thunder in
Demosthenes which shook the throne of Macedon to its founda-
tion^ ; and are sometimes at a loss for that force in th • roofs
of Cicero, M^hich balanced in the midst of anarchy the touering
state of Rome.

That full flow of prosaick harmony, so perceptible
in the former sentence, is greatly diminished in this ;
and the reason seems plainly pointed out : for as the
harmony of verse is owing solely to an equal and reg-
ular return of accent, the harmony of prose must arise
irom the same source ; that is, as verse owes its har-
mony entirely to a regular return of accent, prose can
never be harmonious by a total want of it. The
sole difference between them seems to lie in the con-
stant, regular, and artificial arrangement of accent in
the one, and the unstudied, various, and even oppo-
site arrangement in the other. Verse, with some few
cxctptioiis, proceeds in a regular alternation of ac-
cent, from one end of the poem to the other ; harmo-

254 ELEMENT'S OF

nious prose, on the contrar}'^, in some members, i

adopts one species of arrangement, and in some an- I

other ; but always so as to avoid such clusters of ^

accents in one place, and such a total absence of them
in another, as necessarily occasions a ruggedness and
difficulty of pronunciation.

At first sight, perhaps, we should be led to sup-
pose, that the intervals between the accents ought
rather to diminish than increase as they approach the
end of a sentence ; and yet, if we consult the ear, we
shall find that intervals of two unaccented syllables
sound better, even in the closing member of a sen-
tence, than intervals of one unaccented syllable only.
Let us take the following sentence as an example of
this :

Demetrius compares prosperity to the indulgence of a fond
mother to a child, which often proves- his ruin ; but the affec-
tion of the Divine Being to that of a wise father, who would
have his sons exercised in labour, disappointment, and pain,
that they may gather sti'ength and fortitude.

Now, if, instead of the word strength^ we substi-
tute experience^ though the sense ma} be weakened,
the sound vviii, perhaps, be improved ; and if the
ears of others should agree with mine in this particu-
lar, it may be laid down as a rule, that other circum-
stances being equal, the last members of sentences
ought rather to end in the dactylick than in the iam-
bick measure. In this appellation of the meas-
ure of prose, J adopt the terms generally made
i.\se of, and particularly by Mason, in his Essay
on Prosaick Numbers. This gentleman deserves
much praise for his attempt to investigate the causes
of prosaick harmony, but appears to mc to have an idea
of English metre so blended with that oi the Lat-
in and Greek, as to throw errour and contusion over
his whole performance. For what can we make oi his
placing two long quantities over the two syllables of

ELOCUTION. 255

the words sentence and spondee? Each of these
words can have but one accent ; and it is accent, or
emphasis, and tliese only, and not any length or open-
ness of the vowels, that forms English metre, or that
rhythmus which is analogous to it in prose.

Harmony of Prosaick Injiections.

Hitherto I have only considered poetick and
prosaick harmony as arising from a harmonious and
rhythmical arrangement of accent ; and it is with
some diffidence I venture upon a farther explication
of this subject upon principles which have never yet
been thought of: but I presume it will be found,
upon inquiry, that the various and harmonious ar-
rangement of the rising and falling inflections of the
voice, is no less the cause of harmony, both in verse
and prose, than the metrical aiTangement of accent
and emphasis.

The melody both of prose and verse seems to
consist as much in such an anangement of emphat-
ick inflection, as suits the sense, and is agreeable to
the ear, as it does in a rhythmical disposition of ac-
cented and emphatick syllables. To illustrate this
observation, let us take an harmonious couplet in
Pope's Prologue to Cato :

A brave man struggling in the storms of fate,
And greatly falling with a falling state.

The first line of this couplet ends with the rising
inflection, to prevent the want of harmony tliere
would be in ending two successive lines with the
same inflection ; a sameness for which nothing but
emphasis will ever apologize. As this line ends
with the rising inflection, the last word may not im-
properly be called the rudder, which directs the in-

256 ELEMENTS OF

flections on the preceding words ; few, in order te
prevent an exact return of the same order of inflec-
tion, it is not sufficient that the different inflections
succeed each other alternately ; this world be like
the successi\^e sounds of the letters A, B ; A, B.
To prevent a return of sounds so little various, we
find the ear generally adopt a succession of inflection,
which interposes two similar inflections between two
similai- inflections ; and this produces a variety sim-
ilar to the series,

A, B, B, A ; or B, A, A, B.

The first line, therefore, of this verse, necessarily
ending with the rising inflection on the word, fate, in
order to make the other words as various and har-
monious as possible, the falling inflection is placed
on storms., the same inflection on struggling, and
the rising inflection on brave ; and this, in the first
line, forms the aiTangement, rising, falling, falling y
rising; or,

A, B, B, A.

The next line ending the sentence, necessarily a-
dopts the falling inflection on the last word state, and
this directs the rising inflection to be placed on the
two words falling, and the falling inflection on great-
ly, which produces this order, falling, rising, rising,
falling; or B, A, A, B. This order of placing
the inflections is not invariably adopted, because em-
phasis sets aside every other rule, and makes har-
mony subservient to sense : but it may be asserted,
that this order of arranging the inflections is so
generally adopted by the ear, that when emphasis
does not forbid, this is the arrangement into which
the verse naturally slides. It may likewise be ob-
served, that where emphasis coincides with this ar-

ELOCUTION-. 257

i-angement, the verse is always the most harmoni-
ous, and the sense in its most poetical dress. Nay,
we .shall find harmonious prose, where emphasis does
not interrupt the natural current of inflection, glide
insensibly into this rhythmical arrangement of in-
flection. Let us take an example :

Exercise and temperance strengthen the constitution.

Agreeably to the order we have just taken notice of,
we find this sentence adopt the falling inflection on
exercise^ the rising on temperance ond strengthen, and
the falling on constitution ; but if we add another
member to this sentence, so connected with this as to
require the rising inflection on constitution, we shall
find that the arrangement of inflection is changed, but
the same order preserved.

Exercise and temperance strengthen the constitution, and
sweeten the enjoyments of life.

Here, I say, contrary to the former arrangement, we
find the rising inflection on exercise, the falling on
temperance and strengthen, and the rising on constitu-
tion ; because here the sense remains suspended aud
unlinished. See Plate I. No. IV. p. 83. A final
member succeeds, consisting of three accented
words ; the two last of which must always be pro-
nounced with different inflections ; that is, the penul-
timate with the rising, and the ultimate with the
falling inflection ; but the antipenultimate word
sweeten, may adopt either the rising or falling in-
flection, as either will diversify it sufliciently from the
preceding and succeeding inflections ; but the falling
inflection on this word seems to be preferable, as the
three words sweeten, e?ijoyment, and lije, form one
distinct portion ; and this portion can be no way so
variously pronounced as by the falling inflection on

258 ELEMENTS OF

sweeten, the rising on enjoyments, and the falling oh
life.

But whatever may be the order of arrangement in
the commencement and middle of a sentence, it is
certain, that if we mean to form an harmonious ca-
dence, one of these two arrangements of inflection ought
to take place at the end of a sentence : that is, if the
last member consists of four accented words, the same
inflections ought to take place at the end of a sentence,
as we find generally obtain in the last line of a couplet
in poetry ; or if the last member consist of three ac-
cented words, such inflections ought to be adopted as
will make a series of three inflections most various,
which is, by giving the last word the falling, the pe-
nultimate the rising, and the antipenultimate either
the rising or falling inflection. See Simple Series,
Rule iv. p. 117.

An instance of the first arrangement is the following
sentence :

The immortality of the soul is the basis of morality, and
the source of all the pleasing hopes and secret joys, that
can arise in the heart of a reasonable creature. Spect. No. 111.

In the last member but one of this sentence, the
words pleasing and Joi/s have the rising inflection, and
hopes and secret the tailing ; and in the last member,
the .vords arise and creature have the falling, and
heart and reasonable the rising inflection, which
is exactly the order of inflection in the last couplet of
the traged}^ of Cato :

Produces fraud and cruelty and strife,
And robs the guilty world of Cato's life ;

Where produces and strife have the rising inflection,
2iwd fraud cci\d cruelty iht falling; and guilty and life
the falling, and world and Cato the rising inflection.

ELOCUTION. 259

An instance of the other arrangement we find in
this sentence :

C'cero concludes his celebrated books de Oratore, with some
precepts for pronunciation and action; without which part he
affirms, that the best orator in the world can never succeed,
and ATI indifferent one, who is master of this, shall gain much
greater applause.

In order to pronounce this sentence with an har-
monious cadence, the word this must have the ris-
ing inflection, as at the end of the first line of a coup-
let, and the three last words, muck greater applause,
which form the last member, must be pronounced
very distinctly with the falling inflection on the last,
the rising inflection on greater, and the falling on
much.

The rule, therefore, that arises from these obser-
vations is, that when the last pause necessarily leaves
the last member of a sentence with four accented
words, as in the first example, they are pronounced
with the inflections in the order Jailing, rising, ris-
ing, falling; and when the pause leaves three accent-
ed words in the last member, they are pronounced
as in the last example ; that is, either in the order,
falling, rising, falling; or rising, rising, falling.

As a corroboration of these principles, we may
observe, that where the pause necessarily leaves but
two accented words in the last member, and that
cmpliasis forbids the preceding member to be so
pronounced as to form the order of inflections we
have prescribed ; when this is the case, I say, we
shall find the period end inharmoniously. Let us take
an example :

If they do not acquiesce in his judgment, which I think
never happened above once or twice at most, they appeal to me.

Speclator.

Here the sense requires, that the emphasis with
the falling inflection should be placed on the word

260 ELEMENTS OF

most; after which must be a pause : and as the final
member consists only of two accented words, appeal
and me^ no tolerable cadence can be formed ; lor
these words, having necessarily the rising and fall-
ing inflection, are but a repetition of the same inflec-
tions, in the same order as on the words twice and
most^ which forms as monotonous a conclusion as
the series,

A, B ; A, B.

It seldom happens, however, that the sentence is
so constructed as to prevent the ear from falling in-
to one or other of the two before mentioned ar-
rangements of inflection. For so agreeable to the
ear is an harmonious cadence, that, for the sake of
forming one, allowances will be made for giving an
emphatick accent even to words not entitled to it
fi*bm their sense. Let us suppose the following sen-
tence forming the conclusion of a discourse :

So that from what has been said, we may certainly conclude,
that as virtue is not always rewarded in the present life, it will
be sure to meet with the most ample and satisfactory reward
in the life to come.

If this sentence is properly pronounced, there
must be a considerable pause at the word reward^ in
order to pronounce the last member with a distinct
and harmonious fall ; but if we pause here, we shall
find it impossible to pronounce the last member har-
moniously without laying a stress on the word in;
and though this word has no title either to accent or
emphusis from the sense it conveys, yet the necessi-
ty of concluding a discourse, or any capital branch
of a discourse, with an harmonious fall, will suflli-
ciendy authorize a considerable stress and distinct
inflection on that insignificant word.

A good ear, therefore, will sometimes lay a stress
on certain words, and sometimes omit it for the sake

ELOCUTION. 261

of an harmonious cadence. Thus, in Sterne's Ser-
mon on the House of Mourning and the House of
Feasting, we meet with this passage :

From reflections of this serious cast, how insensibly do the
thoughts carry us farther ! and from considering what we are,
what kind of world we live in, and what evils befall us in it,
how naturally do they set us to look forwards at what possibly
we shall be ! for what kind of world we are intended — what
evils may befall us there — and what provision we may make
against them here, whilst we have time and opportunity.

In this passage we find the last member, whilst ive
have time and opportunity^ necessarily requires that
the word whilst should be pronounced with the de-
gree of force due to an accented word, or the cadence
would be faulty. But if this last member were con-
structed in this manner ; whilst we have time and
opportunity afforded us ; in this case, I say, we need
give no force to the word whilst^ as there are three
accented words, time, opportunity, and afforded,
which will be sufficient to ibrm the cadence without it.
These observations necessarily suggest the imps r-
tance of such a choice and arrangement of words as
fcill in with the most hai-monious pronunciation. Pro-
nunciation and composition mutually throw light on
each other ; they are counterparts of one great opera-
tion of the human mind, namely, that of conveying
the ideas and feelings of one man to another with
force, precision, and harmony. It will not be very
surprising, therefore, if the foregoing obser\ations on
pronunciation should have hinted a few rules on the
harmony of composition. We hiive seen that the
harmony of every sentence depends more particular-
ly on the construction of the latter part,* as this forms
what is commonly called the cadence. This part of
the sentence, therefore, should be more particularly
attended to, as it is that which crowns the whole,
and makes the most lasting impression on the ear.

* Quim. L. IX. Cap. iv.

262 ELEMENTS OF

Y^ Rules fir Reading Verse.

Whatever difficulties we may find in reading
prose, they are greatly increased when the composi-
tion is in verse ; and more particularly if the verse be
rhyme. The regularity of the feet, and the sameness
of sound in rhyming verse, strongly solicits the voice
to a sameness of tone ; and tone, unless directed by a
judicious ear, is apt to degenerate into a song, and a
song, of all others, the most disgusting to a person of
just taste. If, therefore, there are few who read prose
with propriety, there are still fewer who succeed in
verse ; they either want that equable arid harmonious
flow of sound which distinguishes it from loose, un-
measured composition, or they have not a sufficient
delicacy of ear to keep the harmonious smoothness of
verse from sliding into a whining cant ; nay, so
agreeable is this cant to many readers, that a simple
and natural deliver)^ of verse seems tame and insipid,
and much too familiar for the dignity of the lan-
guage. So pernicious are bad habits in every exer-
cise of the faculties, that they not only lead us to
false objects of beauty and propriety, but at last de-
prive us of the very power of perceiving the mis-
take. For those, therefore, whose ears are not just,
and who are totally deficient in a true taste for
the musick of poetry, the best method of avoiding
this impropriety is to read verse exactly as if it were
prose ; for though this may be said to be an errour, it
is certainly an errour on the safer side.

To say, however, as some do, that the pronuncia-
tion of verse is entirely destitute of song, and that it
is no more than a just pronunciation of prose, is as
distant from the truth, as the whining cant we have
been speaking of is from true poetick harmony. Poe-

ELOCUTION. 265

try without song is a body without a soul. The tune
of this song is, indeed, difficult to hit ; but when once
it ii, hit, it is sure to give the most exquisite pleasure.
It excites in the hearer the most eager desire of imita-
tion ; and if this desire be not accompanied by a just
taste or good instruction, it generally substitutes the
turn tiy turn tiy as it is called, for simple, elegant
poetick harmony.

It must, however, be confessed, tliat elegant read-
ers of verse often verge so nearly on what is called
sing song J without falling into it, that it is no wonder
those who attempt to imitate them, slide into that
blemish which borders so nearly on a beauty. And,
indeed, as an ingenious author observes,* " there is
" such an affinity between poetry and musick,that they
" were in the earlier ages never separated; and though
" modem refinement has, in a great measure, destroy-
*' ed this union, yet it is with some degree of difficul-
" ty, in rehearsing these divine compositions, that we
*' forget the singing of the Muse."

The truth is, the pronunciation of verse is a species
of elocution very distinct from the pronunciation of
prose : both of them have nature for their basis ; but
one is common, tlimiliar, and practical nature ; the
other beautiful, elevated, and ideal nature ; the latter
as different from the former as the elegant step of a
minuet is from the common motions in walking. Ac-
cordingly, Me find, there are many M^ho can read
prose well, who arc entirely at a loss for the pronun-
ciation of verse : for these, then, we will endeavour
to lay down a few rules, which may serve to facili-
tate the acquiring of so desirable an accomplisli-
ment.

But first it may be observed, that though all the
passions may be in a poetical dress, and that the
movement of the \'erse may be suited to all their dif.
ferent characters ; yet, as verse is a species of musick.

* Philosophical Essay on the Delivery of written Languajr.

264 ELEMENTS OF

none of the passions appear to such advantage in po-
Qtry as the benevolent ones ; for as melody is a
thing pleasing in itself, it must naturally unite with
those passions which are productive of pleasing sen-
sations ; in like manner as graceful action accords
with a generous sentiment, or as a beautiful counte-
nance gives advantage to an amiable idea. Thus the
noble and generous passions are the constant topicks
of ancient and modern poets ; and of these passions,
the pathetick seems the favourite and most endearing
theme. Those readers, therefore, who cannot assume
a plaintive tone of voice, will never succeed in reading
poetry ; and those who have this power, will read
verse very agreeably, though almost every other re-
quisite for delivery be wanting.

It has been observed upon a former occasion,* that
the different inflections of the voice upon particular
w'ords are not so perceptible in verse as prose ; and
that in the former, the voice sometimes entirely sinks
the inflection, and slides into a monotone. This pro-
pensity of the voice in reading verse, shows how
nearly poetry approaches to musick ; as those notes
properly called musical, are really so many mono-
tones, or notes without slides, in diflerent degrees
of the musical scale, and sometimes in the same
degree. This approach to a monotone, especially in
plaintive poetry, makes it often difficult, and some-
times impossible, to distinguish whether the slides
that accompany the pauses and emphasis of verse are
rising or falling : and at those pauses where we can
easily distinguish the inflections, we sometimes find
them different from such as we should adopt in read-
ing the passage if it were prose ; that is, we often nnd
the rising inflection at a pause in verse, where, ii it
were prose, we should use the falling : an instance is
given of this at the end of the series, (p. 134) ; and
to this many more might be added. For as pronun-

* Part 1. p. 1 66.

ELOCUTION. 265

ciat'ion has for its object the strongest and clearest
sense, united with the most agreeable sound ; if, in
order to be harmonious, we must necessarily enfeeble
or ooscure the sense j or if, in order to be strong and
clear, we find it necessary to be harsh, the composi-
tion is certainly faulty ; and all a reader can do in
this case is, to make such a compromise between
sense and sound as will produce, upon the whole,
the best effect. It has been before observed, that
sometimes in prose, when the rt>eaning is sufficiently
obvious, we may abate an enforcement of the sense
for the sake of the sound ; and in poetry, the sacrifice
to sound is much more necessary ; that is, if the
sense be sufficiently clear ; for nothing can offend
against every species of pronunciation so much as
confusion or obscurity.

But though an elegant and harmonious pronunci-
ation of verse will sometimes oblige us to adopt dif-
ferent inflections from those we should use in pro-
saick pronunciation, it may still be laid down as a
good general rule, that verse requires the same inJt
flections as prose, though less strongly marked, and|
more approaching to monotones. If, therefore, we
are at a loss for the true inflection of voice on any
word in poetry, let us reduce it to earnest conversa-
tion, and pronounce it in the most familiar and pro-
saick manner ; and we shall for the most part fall in-
to those very inflections we ought to adopt in repeat-
ing verse : nay, it is the preservation of these prosa-
ick inflections that makes the poetick pronunciation
natural ; and the whining cant which is adopted by
many affected readers of poetry, owes, in a great
measure, its origin to a neglect of this rule. Thus
in the following couplet :

Short is the date in which ill acts prevail,

But honesty's a rock will never fail. Steele.

If we pronounce the last word fail with the rising
inflection, sliding upwaids a little higher thai\ usual,
34

266 ELEMENTS OF

we shall infallibly draw the couplet into the whining
tone we are here speaking of; * but if we pronounce
every part of the same sentence exactly in the same
manner, except the last word, and give this the fall-
ing inflection, we shall find a natural tone preserved,
and the whining cant entirely vanished.

This observation naturally leads us to a rule which
may justly be looked on as the fundamental princi-
ple of all poetick pronunciation ; which is, that,
f wherever a sentence^ or member of a sentence, would
[ necessarily require the falling injiection in prose, it
ought always to have the same injiection in poetry ;
for though, if we were to read verse prosaically, we
should often place the falling injiection where the style
of verse would require the rising, yet in those parts,
where a portion of perfect sense, or the conclusion of
a sentence, necessarily requires the falling injtectiqn,
the same injiection must be adopted both in versS and
prose.

EXAMPLE.

Of man*s first disobedience, and the fruit

Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste

Brought death into the world, and all our woe,

With loss of Eden, till one greater man

Restore us, and regain the blissful seat ;

Sing, heav'nly muse, that on the secret top

Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire

That shepherd, who first taught the chosen seed.

In the beginning, how the heav'ns and earth

Rose out of chaos. Miiton's Farad. Lost. B. i. v. i.

Though we were to read this passage quite prosaic-
ally, it would not admit of the falling inflection on
any of its pauses till the end, and here the voice
ought to assume the falling inflection, and be in a
lower tone than at any of the other pauses : But in
the following example :

* Conversing with Dr. Johnson upon this subject, he repeated this coup-
let to me in the manner here described ; which he said was the maaner
in which Savage always used to pronounce verse.

ELOCUTION. 367

High on a throne of royal state, which far
Outshone the wealth of Ormus or of Inde,
Or where the gorgeous East with richest hand,
Show'rs on her kings barbarick pearl and gold,
Satan exalted sat. Ibid. B. ii. v. 1.

In reading this passage prosaically, we might place
the falling inflection on Inde ; but the poetical pro-
nunciation of this passage would necessarily require
a suspension of voice with the rising inflection on that
word. It may be observed, mdeed, that it is in the
frequent use of the rising inflection, where prose
would adopt the falling, that the song of poetry con-
sists : familiar, strong, argumentative subjects natur-
ally enforce the language with the falling inflection,
as this is naturally expressive of activity, force, and
precision ; but grand, beautiful, and plaintive sub-
jects slide naturally into the rising inflection, as this
is expressive of awe, admiration, and melancholy ;
where the mind may be said to be passive : and it is
this general tendency of the plaintive tone to assume
the rising inflection, which inclines injudicious read-
ers to adopt it at those pauses where the falling inflec-
tion is absolutely necessary ; and for want of which
the pronunciation degenerates mto the whine, so much
and so justly disliked ; for it is very remarkable, that
if, where the sense concludes, we are careful to pre-
serve the falling inflection, and let the voice drop in-
to the natural talking tone, the voice may be suspend-
ed in the rising inflection on any other part of the
verse, with very little danger of falling into the chant
of bad readers. I'hus in the following passage which
opens the tragedy of Cato :

The dawn is overcast, the morning low'rs,
And heavily in clouds brings on the day ;
The great, the important day,
Big with the fate of Cato and of Rome.

The grandeur of the objects and swell of language
in this description, naturally tlirow the voice into

26^ feiiFtti:i^Ts or

those tones that express the awe and dignity "^vhich
these objects excite in the mind ; and these tones
being inclined to the plaintive, naturally slide into the
rising inflection, on the pauses ; and this is apt to
draw the voice into a chant : but let the Mord Rome
have the falling inflection and sink into a lower kej-,
in the natural talking tone, and the imperfections in
pronouncing the former part will be in a great mea-
sure covered ; on the contraiy, though the former
part be pronounced ever so accurately, if the word
Rome has the rising inflection, the whole will appear
to be unfinished, and have a disagreeable whining
tone.

This may suffice to shew the necessity of attend-
ing to the pronunciation of peiiods in verse, and of
giving them the same inflection of voice they would
require in prose ; for it must be carefully noted, that
though we often end with the rising inflection in
verse, where we should use the falling in prose, yet
if in prose it is necessary^ we should end with the
rising inflection, we ought always to end with the
same inflection in verse ; in this case, the rising in-
flection at the end of a sentence will not appear to
have the whining tone. Thus, where a question
would require tlie rising inflection in prose, verse
will necessarily require it to the end with the same
inflection : and in tliis case, the rising inflection will
have no bad effect on the ear.

EXAMPLE.

What ! shall an African, shall Juba's heir
Reproach great Cato's son, and show the world
A virtue wanting in a Roman soul ?

' Here, though every pause requires the rising inflec-
tion, and the period the same, yet as this period is an
interogation requiring the rising inflection, no whin-
ing chant is the consequence, but the whole is
natural.

'^LOCUTION. 269

From these observations, this general rule will
naturally aiise : that though^ in verse, we frequently
sustend the voice by the rising inflection , where, if the
composition were prose, we should adopt the falling ;
yet, wherever, in prose, the member or sentence would
necessarily require the rising inflection, this inflection
must necessarily be adopted in verse. • An instance
of all these cases may be found in the following ex-
ample from Pope :

He who through vast immensity can pierce,
See worlds on worlds compose one universe ;
Observe how system into system runs.
What other pianets circle other suns j
What varied being peoples ev'ry star.
May tell why heav'n has made us as we are.
But of this frame, the bearings and the ties.
The strong connections, nice dependencies,
Gradations just, has thy pervading soul
Look'd through ? or can a part contain the whole ?

Is the great chain that draws all to agree.
And drawn supports, upheld by God, or thee ?

If this passage were prose, every line but the fifth
might end with the falling inflection, like a commenc-
ing series of five members ; but the fifth, being
that where the two principal constructive parts unite,
and the sense begins to form, here, botli in prose and
verse, must be the principal pause, and the rising in-
flection.* The two questions with which this sen-
tence ends, ought to have the rising inflection also,
as this is the inflection they would necessarily have
in prose ; though from injudiciously printing the
last couplet so as to fonn a fresh paragraph, the word
whole is generally pronounced with the falling in-
flection, in order to avoid the bad effect of a ques-
tion with the rising inflection at the end of a para-
graph ; which would be effectually prevented by unit-
ing tlie last couplet to the rest, so as to form one

"• See Part I. p. 83, 99.

■t.

270 ELEMENTS OF

whole portion ; and which was undoubtedly the in-
tention of the poet.

Having premised these observations, we shall en-
deavour to throw together a few rules for the reading
of verse, which, by descending to particulars, it is
hoped, will be more useful than those very general
ones which are commonly to be met widi on' this
subject ; and which, though very ingenious, seem
calculated rather for the making of verses than the
reading of them.

Rule I. As the exact tone of the passion, or emo-
tion, which verse excites, is not at first easy to hit,
it will be proper always to begin a poem in a sim-
ple and almost prosaick style, and so proceed till we
are warmed with the subject, and feel the emotion
we wish to express.

Thus in Gray's Elegy in a Country Church-yard,
if we cannot immediately strike into the solemn
style with which that poem begins, it will be better
to commence with an easier and less marking tone ;
and somewhat like the style of reading prose, till the
subject becomes a little familiar. There are few
poems which will not allow of this prosaick com-
mencement ; and where they do not, it is a much
less fault in reading to begin with too little emphasis,
than either to strike into a wrong one, or to ex-
ecute the right emphasis awkwardly. Gray's Ode
on the Extirpation of the Bards, is almost the on-
ly one that does not admit of commencing mode-
rately.

Ruin seize thee, ruthless king !
Confusion on thy banners wait ! &c.

Rule II. In verse every syllable is to have the
same accent, and every word the same emphasis, as
in prose : for though the rhythmical arrangement
of the accent and emphasis is the very definition of
poetrj^, yet, if this arrangement tends to give an em-

ELOCUTION. 271

phasis to words which would have none in prose, or
an accent to such syllables as have properly no ac-
cent, the rhythmus, or musick of the verse, must be
entirely neglected. Thus the article the ought ne-
ver to have a stress, though placed in that part of
the verse where the ear expects an accent.

Of all the causes which conspire to blind

Man's erring judgment and misguide the mind.

What the weak head with strongest bias rules.

Is pride j the never-failing vice of fools. Pope.

An injudicious reader of verse would be very apt
to lay a stress upon the article the in the third line,
but a good reader ^vould infallibly neglect the stress
on this, and transfer it to the words what and weak.
Thus also in the following example, no stress must be
laid on the word of^ because we should not give it
any in prosaick pronunciation :

Ask of thy mother earth why oaks are made

Taller and stronger than the weeds they shade. Ibid.

For the same reason the word as^ either in the first
or second line of the following couplet, ought to have
no stress :

Eye nature*s walks, shoot folly as it flies.

And catch the manners living as thy rise. Ibid,

The last syllable of the word excellent^ in the follow-
ing couplet, being the place of the stress, is very-
apt to draw the organs to a wrong pronunciation of
the word, in compliance with the rhythmus of the
verse :

Their praise is still the style is excellent :

The sense they humbly take upon content. Ibid_.

But a stress upon the last syllable of this word must
be avoided upon paiii of the greatest possible re-

272 ELEMENTS OF

proach to a good reader ; which is that of altering the
accent of a word, to indulge the ear in a childish
jingle of syllables. The same may be observed of
the word eloquence and the particle the in the follow-
ing couplet :

False eloquence like the prismatick glass

Its gaudy colours spreads on ev'ry place. Ibid.

If, in compliance with the rhythmus, or tune of the
verse, we were to lay a stress on the last syllable of
eloquence y and on the particle Me in the first of these
verses, scarcely any thing can be conceived more
disgusting to a good judge of reading.

A bad fault opposite to this is very common among
bad readers ; and that is, hurrying over the two last
syllables of such words so as to reduce the pronuncia-
tion to prose : for it must be carefully noted, that
the beauty of reading verse depends exceedingly upon
the tune in which we pronounce it. The unaccented
syllables, though less forcible, ought to have the same
time as those that are accented ; a regular march,
an agreeable movement, ought to reign through the
whole.

This rule, however, with respect to the place
of the accent, admits of some few exceptions.
Milton has sometimes placed words so unfavourably
for pronunciation in the common way, that the ear
would be more disgusted with the harshness of the
verse, if the right accent were preserved, than with a
wrong accent which preserves the harmony of the
verse : for it is not merely reducing a line to prose
if the sense requires it, which is a capital fault in read-
ing poetry, but reducing it to very harsh and disagree-
able prose. Thus the Angel in Milton, reasoning
with Adam about the planets, says,

For such vast room in nature unpossess'd
By living soul, desert and desolate

ELOCUTION. 37S

Only to shine yet scarce to contribute
Each orb a glimpse of light, convey'd so far
Down to this habitable, which returns
Light back to tliem, is obvious to dispute.

Farad. Lost. B. viii. v. 153.

The word contribute has properly the accent on the
second syllable ; but the verse would be so harsh
with this accent, that it is presumed a good reader
would, for the sake of sound, lay the principal ac-
cent on the first syllable, and a subordinate stress
on the third. The same may be observed of the
word attribute^ in the following passage from the
same author :

The swiftness of those circles attribute,

Though numberless, to his Omnipotence,

That to corporeal substances could add

Speed almost spiritual. Ibid. B. vlil. v. 197»

Where a word admits of some diversity in plac-
ing the accent, it is scarcely necessary to observe,
that the verse ought in this case to decide. Thus
in the following passage :

Now gentle gales
Fanning their odoriferous wings dispense
Native perfumes, and whisper whence they stole
Those balmy spoils. Par ad. Lost. B. iv. v. 156.

For Hamlet and the trifling of his favour

Hold it a fashion and a toy in blood,

A violet in the youth and prime of nature.

Forward not permanent, though sweet not lasting,

The perfume of a minute. Shakes.

The word perfume in the passage from Milton
ought to be accented on the last syllable, and the
same word in Shakespeare on the first ; for both
these modes of placing the accent are allowable in
prose, though the last seems the preferable ; as it is
agreeable to that analogv of dissyllable nouns and
35

274 ELEMENTS 01

verbs of the same form, which requires the accent to
be on the first syllable c^ the noun, and on the last
of the verb.

But when the poet has with great judgment con-
trived that his numbers shall be harsh and grating,
in order to correspond to the ideas they suggest, the
common accentuation must be preserved.

On a sudden open fly
With impetuous recoil and jarring sound
Th' infernal doors, and on their hinges grate
Harsh thunder. Parad. Lost, B. ii v. 879.

Here the harshness arising from the accent on the
second syllable of the word impetuous^ finely expres-
ses the recoil and jarring sound of the gates of hell.

Rule III. the vowel <?, which is often cut off by
an apostrophe in the word the^ and in syllables be-
fore r, as dangWous^ generous, ^c. ought to be pre-
served in the pronunciation, because the syllable it
forms is so short as to admit of being sounded with
the preceding syllable, so as not to increase the
number of syllables to the ear, or at all hurt the har-
mony.

*TIs hard to say, if greater want of skill

Appear in writing or in judging ill ;

But of the two less dang'rous is th* offence.

To tire our patience, than mislead our sense. Popr.

Him the Almighty power
HurIM headlong flaminsr from th' etherial sky
With hideous ruin and combustion, down
To bottomless perdition, there to dwell
In adamantine chains, and penal fire,
Who durst defy th* Omnipotent to arms. Milton.

In the example from Milton, we have an instance
that the particle the may either form a distinct syl-
lable in poetry or not ; in the first line it must ne-
cessarily form a distinct syllable ; in the second and
last it may be so blended with the succeeding word

ELOCUTION. 275

as to be pronounced without elision, and yet form
no distinct syllable.

Rule IV. Almost every verse admits of a pause
in Oa' near the middle of the line, which is called
the caesura ; this must be carefully observed in
reading verse, or much of the distinctness, and al-
most all the harmony will be lost.

EXAMPLE.

Nature to all things fix'd the limits fit,

And wisely curb'd proud man's pretending wit;

As on the land, while here the ocean gains,

In other parts it leaves wide sandy plains j

Thus in the soul, while memory prevails.

The solid pow'r of understanding fails ;

Where beams of warm imagination play

The memory's soft figures melt away. Pope,

These lines have seldom any points inserted in the
middle, even by the most scrupulous punctuists ;
and yet nothing can be more palpable to the ear,
than that a pause in the fii'st at things^ in the se-
cond at curb*t(f in the third at land, in the fourth
at parts, and in the fifth at soul, is absolutely ne-
cessary to the harmony of these lines ; and that the
sixth, by admitting no pause but at understandings
and the seventh none but at imagination, border
%'ery nearly upon prose. The reason why these
lines will not admit of a pause any where but at
these words, will be evident to those who have pe-
rused the former part of this work on the division
of a sentence, (Part I. page 32 ;) and if the reader
would see one of the most curious pieces of anal-
ysis on this subject in any language, let him pe-
ruse in Lord Kaim's Elements of Criticism the chap-
ter on Versification, where he will find the subject
of pausing, as it relates to verse, discussed in the
deepest, clearest, and most satisfactory manner. It
will be only necessary to observe, in this place, that
though the most harmonious place for the capita!

276 ELEMENTS OF

pause is after the fourth syllable, it may, for the
sake of expressing the sense strongly and suitably,
and sometimes even for the sake of Aariety, be placed
at several other intervals.

EXAMPLES.

*Tis hard to say — if greater want of skill.
So when an angel — by divine command.
With rising tempest — shakes a guilty land.
Then from his closing eyes — thy form shall part.
And the last pang — shall tear thee from his heart.
Inspir'd repuls'd battalions — to engage,
And taught the doubtful battle— where to rage.
Know, then, thyself — presume not God to scan ;
The proper study of mankind — is man.

But besides the capital pause, there are certain sub-
ordinate pauses, which, though not so essential as
the capital pause, yet, according to some of our pros-
odists, form some of the greatest delicacies in reading
verse, and are an inexhaustible source of variety and
harmony in the composition of poetick numbers. But
in the exemplifying of this demi-ccssura, or subordinate
pause, our prosodists either show the impropriety of
many of these pauses, or that they may be accounted,
for upon a different principle.

EXAMPLES.

Relent | less walls || whose darksome round | contains.
For her | white virgins || hyme | neals sing.
In these j deep solitudes || and aw | ful ceils.

Nothing could be more puerile and destructive
of the sense than to make pauses as they are here
marked in the middle of the words re/c-w^/^^^, hymeneal,
and awfiil^ which are the instances Lord Kaims brings
of the use of this half pause. In the lines quoted by
Mr. Sheridan, as instances of the demi-caesura, we
find an emphatick opposition at every one ; and this

ELOCUTION. 277 1

opposition always requires a pause, whether in prose
or verse. See Part I. page 65.

Glows I while he reads || but trembles | as he writes.
Reason | the card || but passion j is the gale.
From men | their cities |j and from gods ) their fanes.
From storms | a shelter || and from heat | a shade.

So that, on the whole, notwithstanding the decided
manner in which these prosodists speak of the demi-
ccesura as necessary in verse, I am apt to conclude
that it often exists no where but in their own imagi-
nations. But the next Rule will lead us to the con-
sideration of a pause of much more importance, which
is a pause at the end of the line.

Rule V. At the end of every line in poetrj^ must
be a pause proportioned to the intimate or remote
connection subsisting between the two Imes.

Mr. Sheridan, in his Art of Reading, has insisted
largely on the necessity of making a pause at the
end of every line in poetry, whether the sense re-
quires it or not, which he says has hitherto escaped
tlie observation of all writers on the subject ; ai.d
this, he observes, is so necessary, that without it we
change the verse into prose. It is with diffidence I
dissent from such an authority, especially as I have
heard it approved by persons of great judgment and
taste.* I must own, however, that the necessity of
this pause, where the sense does not require it, is
not so evident to me, as to remove every doubt
about it ; for, in the first place, if the author has so
united the preceding and following lines in verse as
to make them real prose why is a reader to do that
which his author has neglected to do ; and indeed
seems to have forbidden by the very nature of the

* I asked Dr. Lowth, Mr. Garrick, and Dr. Johnson, about the propri-
ety of this pause, and they all agreed with Mr. Sheridan. Had I been less
acquainted w'th the subject, and seen less of the fallibility of great names
upon it, ^hould have yielded to this decision ; bu' great names are noth-
ing V here the matter in question is open to experiment ; and to this ex-
periment I appeal.

273 CLEMENTS OF

composition ? In the next place, this slight and al-
most insensible pause of suspension does not seem
to answer the end proposed by it ; which is, that of
making the ear sensible of the versification, or ol the
number of accentual impressions in every line.- For
this final pause is often so small, when compared
with that which precedes or follows it in the body
of the line, and this latter and larger pause is so of-
ten accompanied with an inflection of voice which
marks the formation of perfect sense, that the bound-
aries of the verse become almost, if not utterly im-
perceptible, and the composition, for a few lines, falls
into an harmonious kind of prose. For it is evident,
that it is not a small pause at the end of a line in
verse, which makes it appear poetry to the ear, so
much as that adjustment of the accented syllables
which forms a regular return of stress, whether the
line be long or short. Accordingly, we find, that
those lines in blank verse, vv^hich nave a long pause
in the middle, from a conclusion oi the sense, and a
very short one at the end, from the sense continumg,
are, in spite of all our address in reading, very prosa-
ical. This prosaick air in these lines may have a
very good effect in point of expression and vaiiety,
but if too frequently repeated, will undoubtedly ren-
der the verse almost imperceptible ; lor, as was before
observed, the ear will measure the lines by the greatest
pauses, and if these fall within, and not at the end
of the line, the versification will seem to be compos-
ed of unequal lines, and will want that measure v\ inch
the ear always expects in verse, and never dispenses
with, but when sense, variety, or expression is pro-
moted by it.

EXAMPLE.

Deeds of eternal fame
Were done, but infinite ; for wide was spread
That war, and various ; sometimes on firm ground

ELOCUTIOK, • 279

A standing fight ; then soaring on main wing.
Tormented all the air ; all air seem'd then
Conflicting fire : long time in even scale
The battle hung Milton.

The pauses at the ends of these lines are so small
when compared with those in the body of the lines,
that an appeal may be made to every ear for the
truth of what has been just observed. This dispro-
portion in the pauses cannot, however, be said to re-
duce the composition to prose ; nay, even if we were
to use no pauses at all at the end of the lines, they
would not, on this account, entirely lose their poetick
character ; for, at worst, they might be called nu-
merous or harmonious prose : and that the greatest
part of blank verse is neither more nor less tlmn this,
it would not be difficult to prove.

Mr. Sheridan defines numbers to be certain im-
pressions made on the ear at stated and regular dis-
tances ; and as he supposes verse would be no verse
without a pause at the end of each line, he must de-
fine verse to be a cerfciin number of impressions
made on the ear at stated and regular distances, ter-
minated by a pause, so as to make this number of
impressions perceptiljly equal in everj^ line. But if
a pause comes into the definition of verse because it
serves to show the equal number of impressions in ev-
ery line, a pause tliat is insufficient for this purpose
is not, strictly speaking, a poetical pause ; for if the
pause classes words into such portions as obliges the
car to perceive tlie equality or inequality of these
portions, the longest pauses will be the boundaiies
of those portions the ear will most readily perceive,
and the short pauses will, like the demi-czesura, ap-
pear either imperceptible, or'subservient only to the
gi'eater pause : Thus the foregoing passage from
Milton will, while we are pronouncing it, address
the ear in the same manner it docs the eye in the fol-
lowing arrangement :

280 ELEMENTS OF '

Deeds of eternal fame were done, but infinite 3
For wide was spread that war and various ;
Sometimes on firm ground a standing fight ;
Then soaring on main wing, tormented all the air ;
AH air seem'd then conflicting fire :
Long time in even scale the battle hung.

This arrangement of the words, though exactly
classed into those portions in which they come to the
ear, seems to destroy the verse to the eye, and to re-
duce it into what may be called numerous prose :
But have we not reason to suspect that the eye puts
a cheat upon the ear, by making us imagine a pause
to exist where there is only a vacancy to the eye ?
Mr. Sheridan has very properly accounted for the
perception of false quantity in Latin verse by this as-
sociation of visible and audible objects, and there
seems an equal reason to suspect the same fallacy
here.

The best pronouncers of tragedy have never ob-
served this pause, and why it should be introduced
into other composition is not easily comprehended :
The numbers of the verse, the dignity of the lan-
guage, an inversion of the common order of the
words, sufficiently preserve it from falling into prose ;
and if the name of verse only be wanting, the loss is
not very considerable. When the line is terminated
by a rhyme, the boundaries of the verse are very
discernible by the smallest pause ; though the most
harmonious rhyming verse must be acknowledged to
be that where the rhyme is accompanied by a con-
siderable pause in the sense ; but as too long a succes-
sion of these lines satiates the ear with too much e-
cj^uality, we readily exchange sound for variety or
force of expression. Sometimes even the pauses be-
fore and after a rhyme are so considerable, and that
nt the end of the rhyme so small, that the boundaries
of the verse are lost in the rapidity of the expression.

ELOCUTION. ^1

Which, without passing through the judgment, gains
The heart, and all its end at once attains. Pope,

ji^* *Tis with our judgments as our watches ; none

Go just ahke, yet each believes his own. Ibid,

In these lines I think it is evident, that if we make
a small pause of suspension, as Mr. Sheridan calls it,
at the end of the first verse, the pauses of sense at
judgment and hearty and at watches and alike^ are so
much more perceptible, that every trace of the
length of the verse is lost : The same may be ob-
served of the following lines of Milton :

Sing, heav'niy Muse, that on the secret top

Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire

That Shepherd, who first taught the chosen seed

In the beginning, how the heav'ns and earth

Rose out of chaos : Or if Sion hill

Delight thee more, and Siloa's brook, that flow*d

Fast by the oracle of God ; I thence

Invoke thy aid to my advent'rous song.

In the fifth, sixth, and seventh lines of this passage,
the pause in the sense falls so distinctly on the words
chaos^ more^ and God^ that a slight pause at hill^
jtovj'd^ and thence^ would not have the least power of
informing the ear of the end of the line, and of the
equality of the verse, and, therefore, for these pur-
poses would be entirely useless. For in all pronunci-
ation, whether prosaick or poetick, at the beginning of
every fresh portion, the mind must necessarily have
the pause of the sense in view ; and this prospect of
the sense must regulate the voice for that portion, to
the entire neglect of any length in the verse, as an
attention to this must necessarily interrupt that flow
or current in the pronunciation which the sense de-
mands. Thus the current of the voice is stopped at
chaos ; and the succeeding part of the vesse, Or if
Sion hill^ is so much det.ichcd from the preceding
part, that the admeasurement of the verse is dcstrov-
36

282 ELEMENTS OP

ed to the ear, and we might add a foot more to the
latter part of the verse without seeming at all to
lengthen it ; we might, for example, write the line in
this manner,

Rose out of Chaos ; or if Sion's verdant hill,

without any indication of false quantity to the ear,
though the eye scans it as too long by two syl-
lables.

The affectation which most writers of blank verse
have of extending the sense beyond the line, whether
necessary or not, is followed by a similar affectation
in the printer, who will often omit placing a pause
at the end of a line of verse, where he would have
inserted one in prose ; and this affectation is still car-
ried farther by the reader, who will generally run the
sense of one line into another, where there is the least
opportunity of doing it, in order to show that he is
too sagacious to suppose there is any conclusion in
the sense because the line concludes. This affecta-
tion, I say, has possibly given rise to the opposite one
adopted by the learned ; namely, that of pausing
where the sense absolutely forbids a pause, and so
by shunning Scylla, to fall into Charj bdis : This
errour is excellently described by Pope :

The vulgar thus through imitation err.

As oft the leam'd by being singular ;

So much they hate the ciowd, that if the throng

By chance go right, they purposely go wrong.

The truth is, the end of a line in verse naturally
inclines us to pause ; and the words that refuse a
pause so seldom occur at the end of a verse, that we
often pause between words in verse where we should
not in prose, but where a pause would by no means
interfere with the sense : this, it is presumed, has been
fully shown in the former part of this work ; and this,
perhaps, may be the reason why a pause at the end

ELOCUTIOIf. 283

of a line in poetry is supposed to be in compliment
to the verse, when the very same pause in prose is
allowable, and, perhaps, eligible, but neglected as
unnecessary : However this be, certain it is, that
if we pronounce many lines in Milton, so as to make
the equality of impressions on the ear distinctly per-
ceptible at the end of every line ; if by making this
pause we make the pauses that mark the sense less
perceptible, we exchange a solid advantage for a
childish rhythm, and, by endeavouring to preserve
the name of verse, lose all its meaning and energy.

Rule VI. In order to form a cadence in a period
in rhyming verse, we must adopt the falling inflection
wit I considerable force, in the caesura of the last line
but one.

EXAMPLE.

One science only will one genius fit.

So vast is art, so narrow human wit j

Not only bounded to peculiar arts,

But oft in those confin'd to single parts ;

Like kings we lose the conquests gain'd before,

By vain ambition still to make them more ;

Each might his sev'ral province || well command,

Would all but stoop to what they understand.

In repeating these lines, we shall find it necessary
to form die cadence, by giving the falling inflection
with a little more force than common to tlie word
province. The same may be observed of the word
prospect^ in the last line but one of the following
passage :

So pleas'd at first, the tow'ring Alps we try,

Mount o'er the vales, and seem to tread the sky ;

Th' eternal snows appear already past,

And :he first clouds and mountains seem the last :

But those attain'd, we tremble to survey

The growing labours of the lengthen'd way ;

Th mcteasing prospect || lires our .vand'iing eyes,

Hills peep o'er hills, and Alps on Alps arise.

284 ELEMENTS OF

Rule VII. A simile in poetry ought always to be
read in a lower tone of voice than that part of the pas-
sage which precedes it.

« EXAMPLE.

Twas then great Marlb'rough's mighty son! was prov'd,

That in the shock of charging hosts unmov'd.

Amidst confusion, horrour, and despair,

Examin'd all the dreadful scenes of war.

In peaceful thought the field of death survey'd,

To fainting squadrons sent the timely aid ;

Inspir'd repuls'd battalions to engage,

And taught the doubtful battle where to rage.

So when an angel, by divine command

With rising tempests shakes a guilty land,

(Such as of late o'er pale Britannia past,)

Calm and serene he drives the furious blast ;

And, pleas'd th' Almighty's orders to perform.

Rides on the whirlwind, and directs the storm. jiddison.

Rule VIII. Where there is no pause in the sense
at the end of the verse, the last word must have ex-
actly the same inflection it would have in prose.

EXAMPLE.

0*er their heads a crystal firmament.
Whereon a sapphire throne, inlaid with pure*
Amber, and colours of the show'ry arch. Milton.

In this example, the word pure must have the fall-
ing inflection, whether we make any pause at it or
not, as this is the inflection the word would have if
the sentence were pronounced prosaically. For the
same reason the words retired and tuent^ in the fol-
lowing example, must be pronounced with the ris-
ing inflection.

•This, it is presumed, is an instance, that a pause of suspension may
semetimes be improper at the end ol a line. See pcige 277.

ELOCUTION. 265

At his command th' uprooted hills retir'd

Each to his place ; they heard his voice and went

Obsequious ; heav'n his wonted face renew'd.

And with fresh flow'rets hill and valley smil'd. Y

Rule IX. Sublime, grand, and magnificent de- ; ^
scription in poetry, frequently requires a lower tone of K \'
voice, and a sameness nearly approaching to a mo-' J
notone, to give it variety.

This rule will surj^rise many who have always
been taught, to look upon a monotone or sameness*
of voice as a deformity in reading. A deformity it
certainly is, when it arises either from a want of
power to alter the voice, or a want of judgment to
introduce it properly ; but I presume it may be with
confidence affirmed, that when it is introduced with
propriety, it is one of the greatest embellishments of
poetick pronunciation. Nay, a monotone connected
with preceding and succeeding inflections, is a real
variety, and is exactly similar to a succession of the
same identical notes in musick ; which, considered
apart, is perfectly monotonous, but, taken with wh it
goes before and follows, is among the finest beauties
of composition.

The use of the monotone has already been exem-
plified, page 86, in the grand description of Satan's
throne, at the beginning of the Second Book of Pa-
radise Lost, and may be farther illustrated by a pas-
sage of the Allegro of the same poet.

Hence ! loath'd Melancholy,

Of Cerberus and blackest Midnight bom,
In Stygian cave forlorn,

*Mongst horrid shapes and shrieks, and sights unholy.
Find out some uncouth cell,

Where brooding darkness spreads his jealous wings,
And the night raven sings ;

There, under ebon shades and low-brow'd rocks.
As ragged as thy locks,

In dark Cimmerian desert ever dwell.

286 ELEMENTS OP

In repeating this passage, we shall find the dark-,
ness and horror of ihe cell wonderfully augmented,
by pronouncing the eighth line,

" There, under ebon shades, and low-brow'd rocks,'*

in a low monotone ; which monotone may not be
improperly signified, by the horizontal line general-
ly used to mark long quantity ; as this line is per-
fectly descriptive of a sameness of tone ; as the acute
and grave accent are of variety.

\ Modulation of the Voice.

After a perfect idea is attained of the pausc^
emphasis, and inflection, with which we ought to
pronounce every word, sentence, interrogation, cli-
max, and different figure of speech, it will be abso-
lutely necessary to be acquainted with the po>ver,
variety, and extent of the instrument, through which
we convey them to others ; for unless this instru-
ment be in a proper pitch, whatever we pronounce
will be feeble and unnatural ; as it is only in a cer-
tain pitch that the voice can command the greatest
variety of tones, so^ as to utter them with energy and
ease.

Every one has a certain pitch of voice, jn which
he is most easy to himself, and most agreeable to
others ; this may be called the natural pitch : this is
the pitch in which we converse ; and this must be
the basis of every improvement we acquire from art
and exercise : for such is the force of exercise upon
the organs of speech, as well as every other in the
human body, that constant practice will strengthen
the voice in any key we use it to, even though this

ELOCtJTION. 287

happen not to be the most natural and easy at first.
This is abundantly proved by the strong vocifera-
tion which the itinerant retailers in the streets acquire
after a few years practice. Whatever key they hap-
pen to pitch upon at first is generally preserved ; and
the voice in that note becomes wonderfully strong
and sonorous : but as the Spectator humorously ob-
serves, their articulation is generally so indistinct,
that we understand what they sell, not so much by
the words as the tune.

As constant exercise is of such importance to
strengthen the voice, care should be taken, that we
exercise it on that part where it has naturally the
greatest power and variety : this is the middle tone ;
the tone we habitually make use of, when we con-
verse with, or speak to persons at a moderate
distance ; for if we call out to one who is so far off
as to be almost out of hearing, we naturally raise our
voice to a higher key, as well as swell it upon that
key to a much greater degree of loudness ; as, on
the contrary, if we wish to be heard only by a single
person in company, we naturally let fall our voice in-
to a low key, and abate the force of it, so as to keep
it from being heard by any but the person we are
speaking to.

In this situation, nature dictates ; but the situation
of the publick speaker is a situation of art ; he not
only wishes to be heard, but to be heard with energy
and ease ; for this purpose, his voice must be power-
ful in that key which is easiest to him, in that which
he will most naturally fall into, and which he will cer- \
tainly have the most frequent occasion to use : and
this is the middle tone.

But before we enter farther on this subject, it seems
absolutely necessiuy to obviate a very common mis-
take with respect to the voice, which may lead to an
incurable errour ; and that is the confounding of high J
and lo^v with loud and soft. These plain dificrences .

288 ELEMENTS Of

are as often jumbled together as accent and quantity
though to much worse purpose. Our mistakmg of
accent for quantity when we converse about it, makes
not the least alteration in our speaking ; but if, when
we ought only to be louder, we raise our voice to a
higher key, our tones become shrill and feeble, and
frustrate the very intention of speaking,

Those who understand ever so little of musick,
know that high and loud, and soft and low, are by no
means necessarily connected ; and that we may be
ver}'^ soft in a high note, and very loud in a low one ;
just as a smart stroke on a bell may have exactly the
same note as a slight one, though it is considerably
louder. But to explain this difference to those who
are unacquainted w ith musick, we may say, that a
high tone is that we naturally assume when we wish
to be heard at a distance, as the same degree of force
is more audible in a high, tlian in a low tone, from
the acutencss of the former, and the gravity of the
latter ; and that a low tone is that we naturally assume
when we are speaking to a person at a small distance
and wish not to be heard by others ; as a low tone
with the same force is less audible than a high one ;
if, therefore, we raise our voice to the pitch we should
naturally use if we were calling to a person at a great
distance, and at the same time exert so small a degree
of force as to be heard only by a person who is near
us, we shall have an example of a high note in a soft
tone ; and on the contrary, if we suppose ourselves
speaking to a person at a small distance, and wish to
be heard by those who are at a greater, in this situa-
tion we shall naturally sink the voice into a low note,
and throw just as much force or loudness into it as is
necessarj' to make it audible to the persons at a dis-
tance. This is exactly the manner in which actors
speak the speeches that are spoken aside. The low
tone conveys die idea of speaking to a person near
us, and the loud tone enables us to convey this idea

ELOCUTION. 289

to a distance. By this experiment wc perceive, that
high and loud, and soft and low, tliough most frc-
quentl)^ associated, are essentially distinct from each
other.

Such, however, is the nature of the human voice,
that to begin in the extremes of high and low are
not equally dangerous. The voice naturally slides
into a higher tone, when we. want to speak louder,
but not so easily into a lower tone, when we would
speak more softly. Experience show s us, that we
can raise our voice At pleasure to any pitch it is
capable of; but the same experience tells us, that
it requires infinite art and practice to bring the voice
to a lower key when it is once raised too high. It »
ought therefore to be a first principle with all publick
readers and speakers, rather to begin under the
common level of their voice than above it. The',
attention of an auditory, at the commencement of a
lecture or oration, makes the softest accents of the
speaker audible, at the same time that it affords a
happy occasion for introducing a variety of voice,
without which every address must soon tire. A rep-
etition of the same subject, a thousand times over,
is not more tiresome to the understanding, than
a monotonous delivery of the most varied sub-
ject to the ear. Poets, to produce variety, alter the
structure of their verse and rather hazard uncouthness
and discord than sameness. Prose writers change
the style, turn, and structure of their periods, and
sometimes throw in exclamations, and sometimes
interrogations, to rouse and keep alive the attention ;
but all this art is entirely thrown away, if the reader
does not enter into the spirit of his author, and by a
similar kind of genius, render even variety itself more
various ; if he does not, by an alteration in his voice,
manner, tone, gesture, loudness, softness, quickness,
slowness, adopt every change of which the subject is
susceptible.
37

290 ELEMENTS Ot

Every one, therefore, who would acquire a vari-
ety of tone in publick reading or speaking, must
avoid as the greatest evil a loud and vociferojis be-
ginning; and for that purpose it would be prudent
in a reader or speaker to adapt his voice as if on-
ly to be heard by the person who is nearest to him ;
if his voice has natural strength, and the subject
any thing impassioned in it, a higher and louder
tone will insensibly steal on him ; and his greatest
address must be directed to keeping it within bounds-
For this purpose it vvdll be frequently necessary
for him to recall his voice, as it were, from the
extremities of his auditory, and direct it to those
who ai'e nearest to him. This it will be proper
\^' to do almost at the beginning of every paragraph
in reading, and at the introduction of every part
,^,^ of the subject in discourse. Nothing will so pow-
erfully work on the voice, as supposing ourselves
conversing at different intervals with different parts
of the audience.

*. A celebrated \vriter on this subject directs a rea-
der or speaker, upon his first addressing his audi-
tory, to fix his eyes upon that part of them from
which he is the farthest, and to pitch his voice
so as to reach them. This, I fear, ^vould be at-
tended with very ill consequences if the assembly
were very large ; as a speaker would be strongly
tempted to raise his voice, as well as increase its
force ; and by this means begin in a key much too
high for the generality of his auditory, or for his
own powers to continue it. The safest rule, there-
fore, is certainly to begin, as it were, with those
t of the assembly that are nearest to us; and if the
■ voice be but articulate, however low the key may
be, it will still be audible ; and those who have
a sufficient strength of voice for a publick auditory,
find it so much more difficult to bring down than
raise the pitch, that they will not wonder I employ my

ELOCUTION. 291

chief care to guard against an errour by far the most
common, as well as the most dangerous.

Much, undoubtedly, will depend on the size and
structure of the place we speak in : some are so
immensely large, as many of our churches and ca-
thedrals, that tlie voice is nearly as much dissipat-
ed as in the open air ; and often with the addition-
al inconvenience of a thousand confused echos and
re-echos. Here a loud and vociferous speaker will
render himself unintelligible in proportion to his
exertion of voice : as departing and commencing
sounds will encounter each other, and defeat every
intention of distinctness and harmony.

Nothing but good articulation will make a speak-
er audible in this situation, and a judicious atten-
tion to that tone of voice which is most suitable to
the size and imperfections of the place. If the
place we speak in be but small, it will be scarcely
necessary to observe that the loudness of the voice
should be in proportion. Those who have not ears
sufficiently delicate to discern the true quantity of
sound necessary to fill the place they speak in, ought
to take eveiy possible method to acquire so essential
a qualification. A knowledge of musick, many
trials of different degrees of loudness, and the friend-
ly criticism of good judges, may do much towards
acquiring this accomplishment ; and it must ever
be remembered, that high and low are essentially
distinct from loud and soft ; as we may with the
utmost propriety be at the highest note of our voice
in the smallest room, provided we are not too loud,
and use the lowest part of our voice in the largest,
provided we are not too soft and indistinct to be
heard.

In order to reduce the foregoing observations to
practice, it may not be unprofitable to attend to the
following rules.

292

ELEMENTS OF

^ Rule I. To gain a habit of lowering the voice, it
will be necessary to drop the voice to a lower key up-
on tlie end of one sentence, and to commence the
next sentence in the same low key with which we
concluded the former ; for this purpose, it will be
necessary to select sentences where this pronuncia-
tion is eligible, and practise upon them.

EXAMPLES.

Our sight is the most perfect and most delightful of all our
senses. It fills the mind with the largest variety of ideas, con-
verses with its objects at the greatest distance, and continues
the longest in action without being tired or satiated with its
proper enjoyments. The sense of feeling can indeed give us a
notion of extension, shape, and all other ideas that enter at the
eye, except colours ; but at the same time it is very much
straightened and confined in its operations to the number, bulk,
and distance of its particular objects. Sped. No. 411.

I shall first consider those pleasures of the imagination which
arise from the actual view and survey of outward objects ; and
these, I think, all proceed from the sight of what is great, un-
common, or beautiful. There may, indeed, be something so
terrible or offensive that the horrour or loathsomenes of the
object may overbear the pleasure which results from its great-
ness, novelty, or beauty ; but still there will be such a mixture
of delight in the very disgust it gives us, as any of these three
qualifications are most conspicuous and prevailing.

Spect. No. 412.

The sense of feelings in the first example, and
there may indeed., in the second, may very^ properly
commence in a low tone of voice, as this tone is gen-
erally suitable to the concession contained in each of
the sentences.

Similes in poetry form proper examples for gaining
a habit of lowering the voice.

EXAMPLE.

He above the rest,
In shape and gesture proudly eminent,
Stood like a tow'r. His form had not yet Io§t

ELOCUTIQlf. 293

AH her original brightness, nor appear'd

Less than archangel ruin'd and ih' excess

Of glory obscur'd ; as when the sun new ris'n

Looks through the horizontal misty air

Shorn of his beams : or from behind the moon

In dim eclipse disastrous twilight sheds

On half the nations, and with fear of change

Perplexes monarchs. Paradise Lost.

In this example are two similes in succession ; and
it may be observed, that, in order to pronounce them
properly, the voice ought to be twice lowered ; that
is, on the first simile at as when the sun^ and then at
or from behind the moon, which last simile must be
in a lower tone of voice than the former, and both
nearly in a monotone.

Rule II. This lowering of the voice will be great-
ly facilitated if we begin the words we wish to lower
the voice upon, in a monotone, or sameness of sound,
approaching to that produced by repeatedly striking
the same key of a harpsichord. Thus in the follow-
ing passage from Dr. Akenside's Pleasures of Imag-
ination :

With what attractive charms this goodly frame
Of nature, touches the consenting hearts
Of mortal men ; and what the pleasing stores
Which beauteous imitation thence derives.
To deck the poet's or the painter's toil,
My verse unfolds. Attend, ye gentle powers
Of musical delight ! and, while I sing
Your gifts, your honours, dance around my strain.
Thou, smiling queen of every tuneful breast,
Indulgent Fancy ; from the fruitful banks
Of Avon, whence thy rosy fingers cull
Fresh flow'rs, and dews, to sprinkle on the turf
Wliere Shakespeare lies, be present : and with thee
Let Fiction come upon her vagrant wing.
Wafting ten thousand colours through the air;
And by the glances of her magick eye,
Combining each in endless fairy forms
Her wild creation. Goddess of the lyre.
Which rules the accents of the moving sphere.

294 BtEMENTS OP

Wilt thou, eternal Harmony, descend.

And join this festive train ? for with thee comes

The guide, the guardian of their lovely sports,

Majesiick Truth ; and where Truth deigns to come^

Her sister Liberty will not be far.

Be present, all ye Genii, who conduct

The wand'ring footsteps of the youthful bard.

New to your springs and shades ; who touch his ear

With finer sounds ; who heighten to his eye

The bloom of nature, and before him turn

The gayest, happiest attitudes of things.

Pleasures of Imagination^ Bool I,

This exordium consists of an invocation of several
jioetick powers, each of which ought to be address-
ed in a manner somewhat different ; but none of
them admits of a difference sufficient to give a vari-
ety to a long paragraph, except that of eternal Har-
mony: and this from its nature requires a solemn
monotone in a much lo^ver key than the rest : if
therefore we pronounce the words,

Goddess of the lyre,
Which rules the accents of the moving sphere :

If, I say, we pronounce these words in a low mono-
tone, without any inflection of voice on them ; wc
shall throw a great variety into tlie whole invocation,
and gi\'e it at the same time that expression which
the importance of the subject demands.

Rule III. As few voices are perfect ; those which
have a good bottom often wanting a top, and inverse-
ly ; care should be taken to improve by practice
that part of tlie voice which is most deficient ; for
instance ; if we want to gain a bottom, we ought to
practise speeches which require exertion, a little be-
low the common pitch ; when we can do diis with
ease, we may practise them on a litUe lower note,
and so on till we are as low as we desire : for this
purpose, it will be necessary to repeat such passages
as require a full, audible tone of voice in a low key ;.

JELOCUTION, 2^

tjf this kind is the speech of king John to Hubert,
where he takes him aside, and tempts him to under-
take the death of prince Arthur :

Come hither, Hubert ! O my gentle Hubert,
We owe thee much ; within this wall of flesh
There is a soul counts thee her creditor,
And with advantage means to pay thy love.
And, my good friend, thy voluntary oath
Lives in this bosom, dearly cherished.
Give me thy hand — I had a thing to say-
But I will fit it with some better time.
By heav'n, Hubert, I'm almost asham'd
"To say what good respect I have of thee.

Hub. 1 am much bounden to your majesty.

K. 'John. Good friend, thou hast no cause to say so y«t.
But thou shalt have — and creep time ne'er so slow,
Yet it shall come for me to do thee good.
I had a thing to say, — but let it go ;
The sun is in the heav'n, and the proud day,
Attended with the pleasures of the world.
Is all too wanton and too full of gauds
To give me audience. If the midnight bell
Did with his iron tongue and brazen mouth
Sound one unto the drowsy race of night ;
If this same were a church-yard where we standi
And thou possessed with a thousand wrongs ;
Or if that thou could'st see me without eyes,
Hear me without thine ears, and make reply
Without a tongue, using conceit alone,
Without eyes, ears, and harmful sound of words,
Then in despight of broad-ey'd watchful day
I would into thy bosom pour my thoughts :
But, ah ! 1 will not — yet I love thee well,
And, by my troth, I think thou lov'st me well-

Hub. So well, that what you bid me undertake.
Though that my death were adjunct to my act.
By heav'n I'd do't.

K. John. Do I not know thou would'st ?
Good Hubert, Hubert, Hubert, throw thine eye
On that young boy : I'll tell thee what, my friend.
He is a very serpent in my way,
And wheresoe'er this foot of mine dotli tread.
He lies before me. Do'st thou understand nie '}
Thou art his keeper;

2p6 e'lements of

Hulf. And I'll keep him so,
That he shall not offend your majesty.

K. John. Death.

Hub. My Lord ?

K. John A grave.

Ifub He shall not live.

K. John. Enough.
I could be merry now. Hubert, I love thee ;
Well, I'll not say what I intend for thee :
Remember. Shakespeare's King John, Act iii. Scene 5.

I have quoted so much of this fine passage, because
I think almost every part of it affords an opportunity
of practising to speak with force and energy upon a
lower tone of the voice ; for the whole scene may be
considered as only an earnest whisper ; but as this
whisper must be heard by a whole audience, it is
necessary, while we lower the pitch, to add to the
force of the voice : this, however, is no easy opera-
tion, and none but good readers and consummate
actors, can do it perfectly. It is no very difficult
matter to be loud in a high tone of voice ; but to be
loud and forcible in a low tone, requires great prac-
tice and management ; tiiis, however, may be facili-
tated by pronouncing forcibly at first in a low mono-
tone ; a monotone, though in a low key, and without
force, is much more sonorous and audible than when
the voice slides up and down at almost every word,
as it must do to be various. This tone is adopted
by actors when they repeat passages aside. They
are to give the idea of speaking to themselves, in
such a manner as not to be heard by tlie person
Avith them on the stage, and }'et must necessarily be
heard by the whole theatre. The monotone in a low
key answers both these purposes. It conveys the
idea of being inaudible to the actors with them in the
scene, by being in a lower tone than that used in the
dialogue ; and by being in a monotone becomes au-
dible to the A\'hole house. The monotone, there-

ELOCUTION. 297

fore, becomes an excellent vehicle for such passages
:is require force and audibility in a low tone, and in
the hands of a judicious reader or speaker is a per-
petual source of variety.

Rule IV. When we would strengthen the voice
in a higher note, it will be necessary to practise such
passages as require a high tone of voice ; and if w^e
find the voice grow thin, or approach to a squeak up-
on the high note, it will be proper to swell the voice
a little below tliis high note, and to give it force and
audibility by throwing it into a sameness of tone
approaching the monotone. A speech of Titus
Quintius to the Roman people, ironically encourag-
ing them to the greatest excesses, is a good praxis
for tlie higher tone of voice.

When you are to contend with us, you can seize the Aventine
hill, you can possess yourselves of the Mons Sacer, the enemy is
at our gates, the iEsquiline is near being taken, and nobody
stirs to hinder it. But against us you are valiant, against us
you can arm with all diligence. Come on, then, besiege the
senate-house, make a camp of the forum, fill the gaols with our
chief nobles, and when you have achieved these glorious ex-
ploits, then at the least, sally out at the ^squiline gate with
the same fierce spirits against the enemy. Does your resolution
fail you for this ? Go, then, and behold from our walls, your
lands ravaged, your houses plundered and in flames, the whole
country laid waste with fire and sword. Have you any thing
here to repair these damages ? Will the tribunes make up your
losses to you ? They will give you words, as many as you
please ; bring impeachments in abundance against the prime
men of the state ; heap laws upon laws ; assemblies you shall
have without end ; but will any of you return the richer from
these assemblies ? Extinguish, O Romans ! these fatal divis-
ions ; generously break this cursed enchantment, which keeps
you buried in a scandalous inaction. — Open your eyes, and
consider the management of those ambitious men, who, to
make themselves powerful in their party, study nothing but
how they may foment divisions in the commonwealth.

There are few voices so strong in the upper notes
as to be able to pronounce this speech with the spirit

298 «LEM£NTS OP

it demands ; care must be taken, therefore, pailicu-
larly in the ironical parts, to keep the voice from go-
ing too high, for which purpose it ought to approach
to a monotone in the high notes required upon the
words, agai?ist us you are valiant — against us you
can arm with all diligence ; and particularly upon the
questions, Does your resolution fail you for this ?
Have you any thing here to repair these damages ?
Will the tribunes make up your losses to you ? And
the same conduct of the voice must be observed
upon the four succeeding ironical members.

But no exercise will be so proper to inure the
toice to high notes as frequently to pronounce a
succession of questions, which require the rising
inflection of voice at the end. Such is that instance
of a succession of questions, ending with the rising
inflection, in the Oration of Demosthenes on the
Crown. See p. 160.

What was the part of a faithful citizen ? Of a prudent, an
active, and honest minister ? Was he not to secure Eubcea, as
our defence against all attacks by sea ? Was he not to make
Boeotia our barrier on the midland side ? The cities bordering
on Peloponnesus, our bulwark on that quarter ? Was he not to
attend with due precaution to the importation of com, that this
trade might be protected through all its progress up to our
own harbour ? Was he not to cover those districts, which we
commanded by seasonable detachments, as the Proconesus, the
Chersonesus, and Tenedos ? To exert himself in the assembly
for this purpose ? While with equal zeal he laboured to gain
others to our interest and alliance, as Byzantium, Abydus, and
Eubcea ? Was he not to cut off tlie best and most important
resources of our enemies, and to supply those in which our
country was defective? — And all this you gained by my
counsels and my administration.

Leland's Demosthenes on the Crown.

It will naturally occur to every judicious reader,
that this series of questions ought to rise gradually
in force as they proceed, and therefore it will be
n^essary to keep the voice under at the beginning :

ELOCUTIOIf. 299

to which this observation may be added, that as the
rising inflection ought to be adopted on each question,
the voice will be very apt to get too high near the
end ; for which purpose it will be necessary to swell
the voice a little below its highest pitch ; and if we
cannot rise with ease and clearness on every particular
to the last, we ought to augment the force on eachj
that the whole may form a species of climax.

Rule V. When we would strengthen the voice in
the middle tone, it will be necessary to exercise
the voice on very passionate speeches by pronounc-
ing tliem in a loud tone, without suffering the voice
to rise with tlie force, but preserving all the energy
and loudness we are able, in the middle tone of
voice.

The challenge of Macbeth to Banquo's ghost, is
a proper passage for this exercise of the middle tone
pf voice.

What man dare I dare :
Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear.
The arm'd rhinoceros or Hyrcanian tyger ;
Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves
Shall never tremble. Be alive again,
And dare me to the desart with thy sword ;
If trembling I inhibit, then protest me
The baby of a girl. Hence, horrible shadow.
Unreal mock'ry, hence !

Rule VI. When we have exerted the voice to
the highest pitch, it will be necessary to bring it
down to a lower, by beginning the succeeding sen-
tence in a lower tone of voice, if the nature of the sen-
tence will permit ; and if we are speaking extempore,
it will be proper to form the sentence in such a man-
ner as to make it naturally require a lower tone. A
good praxis for recovering the voice when it is car-
ried to its utmost pitch is the furious resentment and
indignation of Posthumus against himself for giving
credit to the infidelity of Imogen.

300 ELEMENTS OB

Jachimo, This Posthumus — methinks I see him now-

Post. Ay, so thou dost,
Italian fiend ! ah me, most credulous fool,
Egregious murderer, thief, any thing.
That's due to all the villains past, in being.
To come — oh give me cord, or knife, or poison.
Some upright justicer ? Thou king, send out
For torturers ingenious ; it is I
That all th' abhorred things o'th'earth amend
By being worse than they. I am Posthumus
That killed thy daughter ; villain-like, I lie.
That caus'd a lesser villain than myself,
A sacrilegious thief to do't. The temple
Of virtue was she, yea, and she herself —
Spit and throw stones, cast mire upon me, set
The dogs o'th' street to bait me : every villain
Be calPd Posthumus Leonatus, and
Be villany less than 'twas. Oh ! Imogen,
My queen, my life, my wife ! O Imogen,
Imogen ! Imogen !

In this example we find the fury of the passion very
apt to carry the voice too high, but the poet has ve-
ry judiciously thrown in breaks and alterations in
the passion, wliich give the speaker an opportunity
of lowering and altering his voice. Thus the voice
is at its highest pitch of rage at to come, whpn the
break and different shade of the same passion, at O
give me cord, &c. affords an opportunity of lowering
the voice by means of a mixture of intreaty. The
voice is at its utmost extent of height at kiWd thy
daughter; as in this passage he declai'es openly his
guilt, in order to provoke his punishment ; but the
next clause, villain-like, I lie, gives a different shade
of force to the voice by a mixture of remorse. The
next sentence, The temple of virtue, &c. has a re-
gret and tenderness in it that affords an alteration of
voice ; but as this alteration slides into extreme grief,
in which the voice is very apt to go too high, the
next sentence, Spit and throw stones, &c. by the
deep hatred it falls into, gives the speaker an oppor-

ELOCUTION. 301

tunity of lowering aiid recovering the force of his
voice, in order to conclude with that force and ten-
derness which the latter pait of the speech necessa-
rily requires. Thus, by properly distinguishmg
the different shades and mixtures of the passions, we
not only produce variety, but aftord the voice such
resoi rces of energ}', as can alone support it in the
pronunciation.

Rule VII. When we are speaking extempore, and
have carried the voice to its utmost extent in a high
key, in order to bring it down to a lower, we ought,
if possible, to adopt some passion which requires a
low key ; such as shame, hatred, admonition, Sec.
as in the spirited speech of T. Quintius to the Ro-
man people, quoted under Rule IV.

The same may be observed of the speech of the
Angel, in Milton, to Satan.

Think we such tolls, such cares disturb the peace

Of heav'n's blest habitants ? — alike I scorn

Thy person, and imposture. Milton,

The former part of this speech raises the voice to
the highest pitch, and is finely relieved and contrast-
ed by the low tone which scorn requires in the con-
clusion.

/
GESTURE. '

Gesture, considered as a just and elegant adapta-
tion ot every part of the body to the nature and;
import of the subject we are pronouncing, has al-l
wiiys been considered as one of the most essential
parts of oratory. Its power, as Cicero observes,
is much greater than that of words. It is the lan-
guage of nature in the strictest sense, and makes-
its way to the heart, without the utterance of a

302 ELEMENTS OF

single sound. Ancient and modern orators are full
of the power of action ; and action, as with the il-
lustrious Grecian orator, seems to form the begin-
ning, the middle, and end of oratory.

Such, however, is the force of custom, that though
we all confess the power and necessity of this branch
of publick speaking, we find few, in our own coun-
try at least, that aie hardy enough to put it in
practice. The most accomplished speakers in the
British Senate are very faulty in their use of ac-
tion, and it is remarkable that those who are excel-
lent in every other part of oratory aire very defi-
cient in this. The ti'uth is, though the reason of
action in speaking is in the nature of things, the
difficulty of acquiring tlie other requisites of an
orator, and the still greater difficulty of attaining
excellence in action, (which after all our pains is
less esteemed than excellencies of another kind) ;
these, I say, seem to be the reasons why action is
so little cultivated among us : to this we may add,
that so different are national tastes in this particu-
lar, that hardl)"^ any two people agree in the just
proportion of this so celebrated quality of an ora-
tor. Perhaps the finished action of a Cicero or a
Demosthenes would scarcely be bonie in our times,
though accompanied with every other excellence.
The Italians and French, though generally esteem-
ed better publick speakers than the English, appear
to us to overcharge their oratory with action ; and
some of their finest strokes of action would, per-
haps, excite our laughter. The oratory, therefore,
of the Greeks and Romans in this point, is as ill
suited to a British auditor, as the accent and quiui-
tity of the ancients is to the English language.
The common feelings of nature, with the signs tliat
express them, undergo a kind of modification, which
is suitable to the taste and genius ol every nation ;
and it is this national taste which must necessarily

ELOCUTION". 3Q3

Be the vehicle of every thing we convey agreeably
to the publick we belong to. •Whether the action
of the ancients was excessive, or whether that of
the English be not too scanty, is not the question :
those who would succeed as English orators must
speak to English taste ; as a general must leani '
the modem exercise of arms to command modem
armies, and not the discipline and weapons of tlie
ancients.

But though the oratory of the moderns does not
require all those various evolutions of gesture which
was almost indispensable in the ancients, yet a cer-
tain degree of it must necessarily enter into the
composition of every good speaker and reader. To /]
be perfectly motionless while we are pronouncing!!'
words which require force and energy, is not onlyj
depriving them of their necessary support, but ren-
dering them unnatural and ridiculous. A very ve-
hement address, pronounced without any motion
but that of the lips and tongue, would be a burlesque
upon the meaning, and produce laughter ; nay, so
unnatural is this total absence of gesticulation, that it "
is not very easy to speak in this manner.

As some action, therefore, must necessarily accom- j
pany our words, it is of the utmost consequence, thatl
this be such as is suitible and natural. No matter i
how little, if it be but akin to the words anBTpassieii ; j
for if foreign to them, it counteracts and destroys thci
very intention of delivery. The voice and gesturei
may be said to be tuned to each other : and if they I
-«re in a different key, as it may be called, discord 1
must inevitably be the consequence. An awkwaid 1
action, and such as is unsuitable to the words and \
passion, is the body out of tune, and gives the e}c \
as much pain as discord does the ear.

In order therefore to gain a just idea of suitable ac-
tion and expression, it will be necessary to observe j
that every passion, emotion, and sentiment, has a |

304 ELEMENTS OP »

particular attitude of the body, cast of the eye, and
tone of the voice, lliat particularly belongs to that
passion, emotion, or sentiment : these should be
carefully studied, and practised before a glass when
we are alone ; and before a few friends, whose can-
dour and judgment we can rely on. Some good
piece of composition should then be selected, and
every period or sentence be marked with that passion,
emotion, or sentiment, indicated by the words, that
the eye in reading may be reminded of the passion
or sentiment to be assumed. These passions and
emotions we should express with the utmost force and
energy we are able, when we are alone, that we may
ivear ourselves into the habit ofassuming them easily
in publick. This forcible practice in private, will
have the same effect on our publick delivery, that
dancing a minuet has on our general air and deport-
ment. What Pope says of writing is perfectly ap-
plicable to action in oraj;ory.

True ease in action comes from art, not chance.
As those move easiest who have learn'd to dance. '

To descend, however to a few of those particulars,-
to which it seems the most necessar}'- to attend ; it
may not be improper to take notice, that in read-
ing, much less action is required than in speaking.
When we read to a few persons only in private,
it may not be useless to observe, that we should
accustom ourselves to read standing ; that the book
should be held in the left hand ; that we should
take our eyes as often as possible from the book,
and direct them to those that hear us. The three
or four last ^^•ords, at least, of every paragraph, or
branch of a subject, should be pronounced with
the eye pointed to one of the auditors. When any
thing sublime, lofty, or heavenl}", is expressed, the
eye and the right hand may be very properly ele-

ELOCUTION-. 305

vatccl ; and when any thing low,* inferiour, or gro-
\ elling is referred to, the eye and hand may be
directed downwards : when any thing distant or ex- ^
tensive is mentioned, the hand may naturally de-
scribe the distance or extent ; and when concious \
virtue^ or any heartfelt emotion, or tender sentiment A
occurs, we may as naturally clap the right hand on. 1
the breast, exactly over the heart. i

In speaking extempore, we should be sparing of
the use of the left hand, which may not ungrace-
fully hang down by the side, and be suffered to receive .
that small degree of motiow which will necessarily^ 1/
be communicated to it by the action of the right »
hand. The right hand, when in action, ought to
rise extending from the side, that is, in a direction \
from left to right ; and then be propelled for^vards, ;
with die fingers open, and easily and differently |
curved : the arm should move chiefly from the el- \
bow, the hand seldom be raised higher than the shoul- '-
der, and when it has described its object, or enforc- .
ed its emphasis, ought to drop lifeless dowTi to
the side, ready to commence action afresh. The
utmost care must be taken to keep the elbow from:
inclining to tlie body, and to let the arms, wheu .
not hanging at rest by tlie side, approach to the j
action we call a-kimbo ; we must be cautious, too, \
in all action but such as describes extent or cir-
cumference, to keep the hand, or lower part of the /
arm, from cutting tlie perpendicular line that di- ■
vides the body into right and left ; but above all,
we must be ciireful to let the stroke of the hand,
which marks force, or emphasis, keep exact time
with the force of pronunciation; that is, the hand \
must go down upon the emphatical word, and no *
other : Thus in the execration of Brutus, in Julius
Ctcsar :

When Marcus Brutus grows so covetous,
To lock such rascal-counters from his friends,

306 ELEMENTS OF

Be ready, gods, with all your thunderbolts,
Dash him in pieces.

Here the action of the arm which enforces the em-
phasis ought to be so directed, that the stroke of the
hand may be given exactly on the word dash ; this
will give a concomitant action to the organs of pro-
nunciation, and by this means the whole expression
will be greatly augmented. This action may be call-
ed beating time to the emphasis, and is as necessary
in forcible and harmonious speaking, as the agreement
between the motion of the feet, and the musick in
dancing.*

These are some of the simplest and most necessa-
ry directions, and such as may be followed with the
greatest safety : observing the action of the best read-
ers and speakers may, widi some cautions, be recom-
mended to youth ; but cannot with the same safety
be proposed to those who, by long practice, are con-
firmed in habits of their own ; it may, instead of a
modest and negative kind of awkwardness, which is
scarcely offensive, substitute a real and disgusting
kind of mimickry ; and this, by everj' person of the
least taste, will be looked upon as a bad exchange.

To the generality of readers and speakers, there-
fore, it may be proposed to make use of no more ac-
tion than they can help. If they are really in earnest,
as they ought to be, some gesticulation will naturally
break out ; and if it be kept within bounds, it will
' always be tolerable. A man's own feelings will oft-
en tell him how far he may venture with safety ; for
in thar situation ^^ hich he finds the easiest to himself,
he will appear most agreeable to his auditory. Such
a sympathy do we find between speaker and hearer.

* For a simple outline of action, as it may be called, it is presumed the
f EUmenU of Gesture, prefixed to the Academ'ick Speaker, will be found highly
useful ; as the directions there given are lilusirated by plates describing the
several positions of the body, legs, arou, and hands, in a graceful and forc-
ible delivery.

XLOCUTION. 307

that the one cannot be in an awkward situation with-
out communicating a feeUng of it to the other.

Thus have we endeavoured to deUneate those out-
lines, which nothing but good sense and taste will fill
up. The more distinctly these lines are marked, the i
easier will be the finishing ; and if, instead of leav- ;
ing so much to taste, as is generally done, we were
to push as far as possible our enquiries into those ;
principles of truth and beauty, in deliver}^ which arej
immutable and eternal ; if, I say, we were to mark 1
carefully the seemingly infinite variety of voice and\
gesture, in speaking and reading, and compare this j
variety with the various senses and passions of which ■
they are expressive ; from the simplicity of nature in
her other operations, we have reason to hope, that 1
they might be so classed and arranged, as to be of l
much easier attainment, and productive of much cer- 1
tainty and improvement, in the very difficult acquis!- \
tjon of a just and agreeable delivery, »

368 ELEMENTS OP

THE PASSIONS.

*. It now remains to say something of those tones
which mark the passions and emotions of the speak-
er. These are entirely independent on the modula-.
tion of the voice, though often confounded with it :
for modulation relates only to speaking either loud-
, ly or softly, in a high or a low key ; while the
tones of the passions or emotions mean only that
j qualitif of sound that iiidicates the feelings of the
\ speaker, without any reference to the pitch or
1 loudness of his voiced j and it is in being easily sus-
ceptible of every passion and emotion that presents
itself, and being able to express them with that
peculiar quality of sound which belongs to them,
that the great art of reading and speaking consists.) >
"When we speak our o\vn words, and are really im-fj \
passioned by the occasion of speaking, the passionij
or emotion precedes the words, and adopts suchi
tones as are suitable to the passion we feel ; but; j
when we read, or repeat from memor}^, the passion '
is to be taken up as the words occur ; and in doing \
this well, the whole difficulty of reading or repeating \
from memory lies. \

But it will be demanded, how are we to acquire
that peculiar quality of sound that indicates the
passion we wish to express ? The answer is easy :
\ by feeling the passion which expresses itself by that
j peculiar qi^ality^of sound. But the question will
return, how are we~to acquire a feeling of the
passion ? The answer to this question is rather dis-
couraging, as it will advise those who have not a
power of impassioning themselves upon reading or
expressing some veiy pathetick passage, to turn their
studies to some other department of learning, where
nature may have been more favourable to their
wishes. But is there no method of assisting us in ac-

ELOCTTTION. 309

quiring the tone of the passion we want to express ;
no method of exciting the passion in ourselves when
when we wish to express it to others ? The advice of
QuintiUap.^Tdr'Cicero'QSldds occasion, is, to repre-
sent jto our imagination, in the most hvely manner
possible, alT the most striking circumstances of the.
transaction we describe, or of the passion we wish to
feel. " Thus," says Quintilian, " if I complain of
*' the fate of a man who has been assassinated, may I
" not paint in my mind a lively picture of all that has
" probably happened on the occasion ? Shall not the
" assassin appear to rush forth suddenly from his
" lurking-place ? Shall not the other appear seized
" with horrours ? Shall he not cry out, beg his life,
*' or fly to save it ? Shall not I see the assassin
" dealing the deadly blow, and tiie defenceless wretch
" falling dead at his feet ? Shall not I figure to my
" mind, and by a lively impression, the blood gush-
*' ing from his wounds, his ghastly face, his groans,
" and the last gasp he fetches ?"

This must be allowed to be a very natural me-
thod of exciting an emotion in the mind ; but still
the woes of others, whether real or fictitious, will
often make but a weak impression on our own
mind, and will fail of affecting us with a sufficient
force to excite the same emotions in the minds of
our hearers. In this exigence, it may not, perhaps
be unprofitable, to call to our assistance the device
of the ancient Grecian actor Polus ; who, when he
had the part of Electra to perform, and was to repre- ^
sent that princess weeping over the ashes of her broth |
er Orestes, ordered the urn which contained the . ^ij
ashes of his dear and only son to be brought upon'*^j»*
the stage, and by this means excited in himself*
the pitch of grief with which he wished to affect his
audience.

Calling to mind, therefore, such passages of our
own life as are similar to those we read or speak of,
will, if I am not mistaken, considerably assist us in

■^10 aLEMENTS OF

gaining that fervour and warmth of expression, which,
by a certain sympatliy, is sure to affect those who
hear us.

But our natural feeUngs are not always to be
commanded ; and, when tiiey are, stand in need of
the regulation and embellishments of art : it is the
business, therefore, of every reader and speaker in
publick, to acquire such tones and gestures as na-
ture gives to the passions ; that he may be able to
produce the semblance of them when he is not ac-
tually impassioned. The feelings of men, when un-
premeditatedly impassioned, will do wonders. We
seldom hear a person express love, rage, or pity,
when these passions are produced by a powerful ob-
ject on the spot, without feeling in ourselves the
workings of the passions thus instantaneously pro-
duced. Here the reality of the situation contributes
greatly to our own feelings, as well as to the feelings
of the spealvcr. The speech of a malefactor seldom
fails to move us powerfully, however wretchedly de-
livered ; and a person really in the agonies of passion
moves us UTesistibly. But these are situations very
different from the reader and speaker in pubiick.
The reader has always a fictitious or absent passion
to exhibit : and the publick speaker must always
produce his passion at a certain time and place, and
in a certain order ; and in this situation it is general-
ly supposed by our best criticks, that an excess of
feeling, such as we have when unpremeditatedly ac-
tuated by strong passions, would render us incapa-
ble of expressing ourselves, so as properly to affect
others. I have myself seen Powel, in the character
of George Barnwell, so over^vhelmed with grief in
that pathetick address,

Be warn'd, ye youths, who see my sad despair, &c.

as to be incapable of expressing himself in the most
pathetick manner to the audience. However this

ELOCUTION. 311

be, certain it is, we ought to study the effects and
appearances_of thej)assions, that we may be able to -
exhibit them when we are not really impassioned ;
and, when we are, to give passion its most agreeable
expression. Mr. Burke has a veiy ingenious ,
thought on this subject in his Origin of our Ideas of
the Sublime and Beautiful. He observes, that there i
is such a connection between the internal feeling of ]
a passion, and the external expression of it, that \ve '
cannot put ourselves in the posture or attitude of any '
passion, without communicating a certain degree of
the passion itself to the mind. ' The same may be
observed of the tone of voice which is peculiar to
each passion : each passion produces an agitation of
the body, which is accompanied by a correspondent
agitation of the mind : certain sounds naturally pro-
duce certain bodily agitations, similar to those pro-
duced by the passions ; and hence musick has power
over the mind, and can dispose it alternately to joy,
or sorrow ; to ])ity, or revenge. When the voice,
therefore^ assumes that tone which a musician would
produce in order to express certain passions or sen-
timents in a song, — the speaker, like the performer
on a musical inscrument, is wrought upon by the
sound he creates ; and, though activ^e at the begin-
ning, at length becomes passive, by the sound of
his own voice on himself. Hence it is, that though
we frequently begin to read or speak, without feeling
any of the passion we wish to express, we often end
in full possession of it. This may serve to show the
necessity of studying and imitating those tones,
looks, and gestures, that accompany the passions,
that we may dispose ourselves to feel them mechani-
cally, and improve our expression of them when vve
feel them spontiineously ; for by the imitation of the
passion, we meet it, as it were, halfway. •

A passion well described, disposes us to the feel- ,^
ing of it, and greatly assists us in expressing it wi.h
force and propriety ; this sliows the necessity of a

312 ELEMENTS or

/ good description of the passions, and how much the
[ art of speaking depends upon it. Those who feel
I the passions the most powerfully, and unite with tliis
feeling a power of describing their feelings, are those
from whom we may expect the best pictures of what
passes in the soul. For this reason, good poets are
generally the best painters of the passions ; and, for
this reason, too, we find the greatest orators have been
most conversant with the best poets ; for though it is
not the business of the poet, like that of the philoso-
pher, to enter into a logical definition of the origin,
extent, and various relations of the passion he produc-
es, he must, however, feel it strongly, and express it
exactly as we see it in nature, or it will fail in its effect
on the soul ; which, in this case, judges by a sort of
- instinct. This, it is presumed, will be a sufficient
reason for drawing the examples that are given of the
passions chiefly from the poets ; and of these, chief-
ly those in the dramatick line ; as it is in these that
the passions are generally the most delicately and
forcibly touched.

Aaron Hill, in his Essay on the Art of Acting,
has made iTbordT afrempt at such a description of the
passions as may enable an actor to adopt them me-
chanically, by shewing, that all the passions require
either a braced or relaxed state of the sinews, and a
peculiar cast of the eye. This system he has sup-
ported with much ingenuity ; but it were to be wish-
ed he had lived to give his original idea the finishing
he intended, and to have seen it combated by oppo-
site opinions, that he might have removed several
objections that lie against it, and render the truth of
it doubtful. It must be owned, however, that this
writer deserves great praise for the mere attempt he
has made to form a new system, which, under some
restrictions, may not be without its use. It is cer-
tain, that all the passions, when violent, brace the
sinews ; grief, which, when moderate, may be said
to melt or relax the frame, when accompanied by an-

ELOCUTION. 31$

guish and bitter complainings, becomes active and
bracing.* Pity seems never to rise to a sufficient de-
gree of sorrow to brace the sinews ; and anger,even in
the sHghtest degree^ seems to give a kind of tension
to the voice and limbs. Thus Shakespeare, as quot-
ed by this writer, has given us an admirable picture
of this passion in its violence, and has made this vio-
lent tension of the sinews a considerable part of i^s
composition.

Now imitate the action of the tyger !
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood ;
Lend fierce and dreadful aspect to the eye ;
Set the teetli close and stretch the nostril wide ;
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To its full height.

To this may be added, that admirable picture of
violent anger which Shakespeare puts in the mouth
of SuffiDlk, in the Second Part of Henry VI.

Would curses kill, as doth the mandrake's groan,

I would invent as bitter searching terms,

As curst, as harsh, and horrible to hear,

Delivered strongly through my fixed teeth,

With full as many signs of deadly hate.

As lean fac'd Envy in her loathsome cave.

My tongue should stumble in mine earnest words, -j

Mine eyes should sparkle like the beaten flint.

Mine hair be fix'd on end like one distract,

Ay, ev'ry joint should seem to curse and ban ;

And, even now my burden'd heart would break,

Should I not curse them.—

Who can read these admirable descriptions of an-
ger without finding his whole frame braced, and
his mind strongly tinctured with the passion delin-
eated ! How much is it to be regretted that so
great a master of the passions as Shakespeai'e, has
not left us a description similar to this of every

* See Dr. Johnson's excellent remark upoa the speech ©f Lady Cen»
ciance, in King Jolm, Act Hi. jc. 1.

314 ELEMENTS OF

emotion of the soul ! But though he has not de-
scribed every other passion hkc this, he has placed
them all in such marking points of view, as en-
ables us to see the workings of the human heart
from his ^vritings, in a clearer and more affecting
way than in any other of our poets ; and, perhaps,
the best description that could be given us of the
passions in any language, may be extracted from
the epithets he has made use of. But to return to
tlie system : Hill defines scorn to be negligent an-
ger, and adds, " it is expressed by languid mus-
" cles, with a smile upon the eye in the light spe-
" cies, or a frown to hit the serious." The rea-
son he gives for this expression is, " because scorn
" insinuates, by a voluntary slackness, or disarming
" of the nerves, a known or a concluded absence
" of all power in the insulted object, even to make
" defence seem necessary." This seems a very ac-
curate picture of the passion, and the slackness of
the nerves appears necessarily to enter into the prop-
per method of expressing it. But what are we to
think of his definition of Joy ! " Joy," says he,
" is pride possessed of triumph." No author I have
ever yet met with, has supposed pride to be a neces-
sary part of the composition of joy ; though a degree
of joy may form part of the composition of pride.
Pity, he defines to be active grief for another's afflic-
tions ; but this definition seems not to include the
most leading trait of pity, which is, benevolence and
love ; and though pity is ahva}'s accompanied with
a degree of sorrow which often excites us to assist
those we pity, yet pity is often bestowed on objects
we neither can nor endeavour to assist. The poets
have always strongly marked this alliance between
pity and love, and with great propriety. When
Blandford tells Oroonoko he pities him, Oroonoko
answers,

ELOCUTION. .515

-Do pity me ;

Pity's akin to love, and every thought
Of that soft kind is welcome to ray soul.

Oroonoio. Act ii.

And Dr}'den, in his Alexander's Feast, after de-
scribing the power of Timotheus in exciting his
hero's pity for the sad fate of Darius, says,

The mighty master smil'd to see.
That love was in the next degree ;
*Twas but a kindred sound to move,
For pity melts the soul to love.

And Julia, in the Two Gentlemen of Verona, says
of Proteus,

Because he loves her he despises me ;

Because I love him, I must pity him. Act iv.

Poets, who, where the passions are concerned, are
generally the best philosophers, constantly describe
love and pity as melting the soul : but how does
this agree with the intense muscles with which
Hill marks the expression of both these passions ?
And how, according to this writer, can the mus-
cles be intense and the eye languid at the same '
time, as he has described them in pity ; or is it '
conceivable that the eye can express an emotion
directly contrary to the feelings of the whole frame ?
The distinction, therefore, of braced and unbraced
muscles, upon which his whole system turns, seems
at best but a doubtful hypothesis ; and much toOi
hidden and uncertain for the direction of so important,
a matter as the expression of the passions.

In the display of the passions which I have adopt-
ed, nothing farther is intended, than such a descrip- .
tion of them as may serve to give an idea of their r
external appearance, and such examples of their op-
erations on the soul as may tend to awaken an origin,
al feeling of them in the breast of the reader. B,ut

SIS ELEMENTS Ot

it cannot be too carefully noted, that, if possible, the
expression of ever}' passion ought to commence
"Within. The imagination ought to be strongly im-
pressed with the idea of an object which naturally
excites it, before the body is brought to correspond
to it by suitable gesture. This order ought never
to be reversed, except when the mind is too cold and
^ languid to imbibe the passion first ; and, in this case,
an adaptation of the body to an expression of the
passion, will either help to excite the passion we
wish to feel, or in some measure supply the absence
of it.

The two circumstances that most strongly mark
the pvjirf <^>^ipn r^f p^sipn, are the tone of the voice,
and the external^aj^ge^moce of countenance andges-
ture'Ttliese we shall endeavour to describe^ and to
"eScfi description subjoin an example for practice.

In the following explanation and description of
the passions, I have been greatly indebted to a very
ingenious performance, called the Art of Speaking ;
this work, though not without its imperfections, is
on a plan the most useful that has hitherto been
adopted. The passions are first described, then
passages are produced which contain the several
passions, and these passions are marked in the mar-
gin as they promiscuously occur in the passage.
This plan I have adopted, and I hope not without
some degree of improvement. For after the descrip-
tion of the several passions, in which I have frequent-
ly departed widely from this author, I have subjoin-
ed examples to each passion and emotion, which
contain scarcely any passion or emotion but that de-
scribed ; and by thus keeping one passion in view
at a time, it is presumed the pupil will more easily "
acquire the imitation of it, than by passing suddenly
to those passages where they are scattered promis-
cuously in small portions. But though this associa-
tion of the similar passions is certainly an advantage,
the greatest merit is due to the author above men-

ELOCUTION. 517

tioned ; who, by the division of a passage into its
several passions, and marking these passions as they
occur, has done real service to the art of speaking,
4nd rendered his book one of the most useful that
has been hitherto published.

The first picture of the Passions (if it may be
called so) is

TRANQUILLITY.

Tranquillity appears by the composure of the
countenance, and general repose of the whole body,
without the exertion of any one muscle. The coun-
tenance open, the forehead smooth, the eyebrows
arched, the mouth just not shut, and the eyes pas-
sing with an easy motion from object to object, but
not dvv'elling long upon any one. To distinguish it,
however, from insensibility, it seems necessary to
give it that cast of happiness which borders on cheer-
fulness.

CHEERFULNESS.

When joy is settled into a habit, or flows from a
placid temper of mind, desiring to please and be
pleased, it is called gaiety, good humour, or cheer-
fulness.

Cheerfulness adds a smile to tranquillity, and opens
the mouth a little more.

Cheerfulness in Retirement.

Now my co-mates, and brothers in exile,
Hath not old custom made this life more sweet
Than that of painted pomp ? Are not these woods
More free from peril than the envious court ?
Here feel we but the penalty of Adam,
The season's difference ; as the icy fang
And churlish chiding of the winter's wind.
Which, when it bites and blows upon my body
Ev'p till I shrink with cold, I smile and say.

518 ELEMENTS OP

This is no flattery ; these are counsellors
That feelingly persuade me what I am.
Sweet are the uses of adversity,
That, like a toad, ugly and venomous.
Wears yet a precious jewel in its head ;
And this our life exempt from publick haunts.
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks.
Sermons in stones, and good in every thing.

Shakespeare's As Tou Like II.

MIRTH.

When joy arises from ludicrous or fugitive amuse-
ments in which others share with us, it is called mer-
riment or mirth.

Mirth, or laughter, opens the mouth horizontal-
ly, raises the cheeks high, lessens the aperture of the
eyes, and, when violent, shakes and convulses the
whole frame, fills the eyes with tears, and occasions
holding the sides from tlie pain the convulsive laugh-
ter gives them.

Invocation of the Goddess of Mirth*

But come, thou goddess, fair and free.

In heav'n yclep'd Euphrosyne,

And of men heart-easing Mirth ;

"Whom lovely Venus at a birth.

With two sister graces more.

To ivy-crowned Bacchus bore.

Come, thou nymph, and bring with thee

Mirth and youthful Jollity ;

Quips, and cranks, and wanton wiles ;

Nods, and becks, and wreathed smiles ;

Such as hang on Hebe's cheek.

And love to live in dimples sleek :

Sport, that wrinkled Care derides,

And Laughter, holding both his sides :

Come, and trip it as ye go.

On the light fantastick toe ;

And in thy right hand bring with thee

The mountain nymph, sweet Liberty.

Miltotis Comus.

(: ■
ELOCUTION. 519

Laughter on seeing a shrenud Buffoon.

A fool, a fool, I met a fool i'th'forest,

A motley fool, a miserable varlet ;

As I do live by food, I met a fool.

Who laid him down, and bask'd him in the sun,

And rail'd on lady Fortune in good terms ;

In good set terms, and yet a motley fool ;

Good morrow, fool, quoth I ; no, sir, quoth he.

Call me not fool, till heav'n hath sent me fortune ;'

And then he drew a dial from his poke.

And, looking on it with lack-lustre eye.

Says, very wisely, it is ten o'clock ;

Thus may we see, quoth he, how the world wags ;

'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine.

And after one hour more 'twill be eleven.

And so from hour to hour we ripe and ripe.

And then from hour to hour we rot and rot.

And thereby hangs a tale. When I did hear

The motley fool thus moral on the time.

My lungs began to crow like chanticleer.

That fools should be so deep contemplative :

And I did laugh sans intermission

An hour by his dial. O noble fool !

A worthy fool 1 motley's the only wear.

Shakespeare's As You Like It,

RAILLERY.

Raillery, without animosity, puts on the aspect of
cheerfulness ; the countenance smiling, and the tone
of \'oice sprightly.

Rallying a Person for being melancholy.

Let me play the fool
With mirth and laughter ; so let wrinkles come.
And let my liver rather heat with wine.
Than my heart cool with mortifying groans.
Why should a man, whose blood is warm witliin,
Sit like his grandsire cut in alabaster ?
Sleep when he wakes, and creep into the jaundice
By being peevish ? I tell thee what, Anthonio,
(I love thee, and it is my love that speaks ;)
There are a sort of men whose visages
Do cream and mantle like a standing pond.

320 ELEMENTS OF

And do a wilful stillness entertain.
With purpose to be drest in an opinion
Of wisdom, gravity, profound conceit.
As who should say, I am, sir, Oracle,
And when I ope my lips, let no dog bark !
I'll tell thee more of this another time ;
But fish not with this melancholy bait
For this fool's gudgeon, this opinion.
Come, good Lorenzo, fare ye well a while,
I'll end my exhortation after dinner.

Merchant of Venice.

SNEER.

Sneer is ironical approbation : where, with a voice
and countenance of mirth somewhat exaggerated, we
cast the severest censures ; it is hypocritical mirth and
good humour, and differs from the real by the sly,
arch, satirical tone of voice, look, and gesture, that
accompany it.

Scoffing at supposed Cowardice.

Satan beheld their plight,
And to his mates thus in derision call'd :
O friends, why come not on those victors proud ?
Ere while they fierce wfere coming, and when we,
To entertain them fair with open front
And breast, (what could we more ?) propounded terms
Of composition, straight they chang'd their minds,
Flew off, and into strange vagaries fell,
As they would dance : yet for a dance they seem'd
Somewhat extravagant and wild, perhaps
For joy of offer'd peace ; but I suppose.
If our proposals once again were heard,
We should compel them to a quick result.

Milton's Par ad. Losf^

JOY.

A pleasing elation of mind, on the actual or assur-
ed attainment of good, or deliverance from evil, is
called Jo}'.

Joy, when modemte, opens the countenance with
Bmiles, and throws, as it were, a sunshine of delecta-

ELOCUTION. 321

tk)n over the whole frame : When it is sudden and
violent, it expresses itself by clapping the hands,
raisingthe eyes towards heaven, and giving such a
spring to the body as to make it attempt to mount up
as if it could fly : When Joy is extreme, and goes
into transport, rapture, and extacy, it has a vvildness
of look and gesture that borders on folly, madness,
and sorrow.

Joy expected.

Ah, Juliet \ if die measure of thy joy
Be heap'd like mine, and that thy skill be more
To blazon it, then sweeten with thy breath
This neighbour air, and let rich musick's tongue
Unfold the imagin'd happiness that both
Receive in either by this dear encounter.

Shakes, •Rom. and Jul.

Joy approaching to Transport.

Oh, joy ! thou welcome stranger, twice three years

I have not felt thy vital beam, but now

It warms my veins, and plays about my heart ;

A fiery instinct lifts me from the ground,

And I could mount. Dr. Toung^s Revenge,

Joy approaching to Folly.

Come, let us to the castle ;

News, Friends . our wars are done, the Turks are drown'd j

How do our old acquaintance of this isle ? —

Honey, you shall be we'l desir'd in Cyprus ;

I have found great love among ihem. O, my sweet,

I prattle out of fashion, and I dote

In mine own comforts. Shakes. Othello,

Joy bordering on Sorrotu.

O my soul's joy !
If after every tempest come such calms,
May the winds blow till they have waken'd death !
And let the labouring bark climb hills of seas,
Olympus high, and duck again as low
As hell's from heav'n ! If it were now to die,
41

322 ELEMENTS OF

'Twere now to be most happy ^ for I fear

My snul hath her content so absolute.

That not another comfort like to this

Succeeds in unknown fate. Ihtdem,

Joyt or Satisfaction inexpressible,

Imoinda, Oh ! this separation,
Has made you dearer, if it can be so.
Than you were ever to me : you appear
Like a kind star to my benighted steps.
To guide me on my way to happiness ;
I cannot miss it now. Governour, friend.
You think me mad : But let me bless you all
Who any ways have been the instruments
Of finding her again Imoinda's found !
And every thing that I would have in her.

I have a thousand things to ask of her.
And she as many more to know of me.
But yoB have made me happier, I confess,
Acknowledge it much happier, than I
Have words or power to tell you. Captain, you,
Ev'n you, who most have wrong'd me, I forgive :
I will not say you have betray'd me now,
I'll think you but the minister of fate
To bring me to my lov'd Imoinda here.
Let the fools

Who follow fortune live upon her smiles,
AH our prosperity is plac'd in love,
We have enough of that to make us happy ;
This little spot of earth you stand upon,
Is more to me than the extended plains
Of my great father's kingdom ; here I reign
In full delight, in joys to pow'r unknown.
Your love my empire, and your heart my throne.

Southern's Oroonokoo

DELIGHT.

Delight is a high degree of satisfaction, or rather
is jov moderated, and affording leisure to dwell on
the pleasing object ; the tones, looks, and gestures,
are the same as those of Joy, but less forcible, and
more permanent. Thus we gaze upon a pleasing
figure or picture, listen to musick, and are intent
upon delightful studies.

ELOCUTION. 323

Delight on viewing a Statue.

Leon. See, my lord.

Would you not deem it breath'd, and that those veins
Did verily bear blood ?

Paul. My lord's almost so far transported that
He'll think anon it lives.

Leon O sweet Pau ina.
Make me to tliink so twenty years together,
No settled senses of the world can match
The pleasure of that madness. Shakesp, tVinter's Tale.

LOVE.

Love is not ill defined by Aaron Hill, when he calls
it, desire kept temperate by reverence : it is, he says,
a conscious and triumphant swell of hope, intimidat-
ed by respectful apprehension of offending, where
we long to seem agreeable : it is complaint made
amiable by gracefulness ; reproach endeared by
tenderness ; and rapture awed by reverence ; the
idea, then, says he, to be conceived by one who
would express love elegantly, is that of joy combin-
ed with fear.

To this we may add Shakespeare's description of
this passion, in As You Like It.

Phahe. Good shepherd, tell this youth what 'tis to love.

Syl. It is to be all made of phantasy ;
All made of passion, and all made of wishes ;
All adoration, duty, and observance,
All humbleness, all patience, and impatience ;
All purity, all trial, all observance. As You Like It.

If these are just descriptions of love, how unlike to
it is that passion which so profanely assumes its
name !

Love gives a soft serenity to the countenance, a
languishing to the eyes, a sweetness to the voice, and
a tenderness to the whole frame : when intreating,
it clasps the hands, with intermingled fingers, to the
breast; when declaring, the right hand, open, is pressed

224. ELEMENTS OF

with force upon the breast exactly over the heart ;
it makes its approaches with the utmost delicacy, and
is attended with trembling hesitation and confusion.

Love described.

Come hither, boy ; if ever thou shalt love,
In the sweet pangs of it remember me.
For such as I am, all true lovers are j
Unstaid and skittish in all motions else.
Save in the constant image of the creature
That is belov'd. —

Shahespeare' s Tivelfth Night.

Description of languishing Love.

O fellow, come, the song we had last night : —

Mark it, Cesario ; it is old and plain ;

The spinsters, and the knitters in the sun.

And the free maids that weave their thread with bones,

Do use to chaunt it ; it is silly sooth,

And dallies with the innocence of love

irike to old age. Ibid,

If musick be the food of love, play on ;
Give me excess of it ; that, surfeiting.
The appetite may sicken, and so die —
That strain again ; — it had a dying fall ;
O, it came o'er my ear, like the sweet south,
That breathes upon a bank of violets,
Stealing and giving adour. — Enough, no more,
Tis not so sweet now, as it was before.
O spirit of love, how quick and fresh art thou !
That, notwithstanding thy capacity
Receiveth as the sea, nought enters there.
Of what validity and pitch soever.
But fails into abatement and low price,
Even in a minute ! so full of shapes is Fancy,
That it alone is high fantastical. Twelfth Night.

Delight in Love.

What you do
Still betters what is done. When you speak, sweet,
I'd have you do it ever : When you sing,
I'd have you buy and sell so j so give alms.

ELOCUTION. 325

Pray so ; and, for the ordering your affairs,

To bing them too : When you do dance, I wish you

A wave o'the sea, that you might ever do

Nothing but that ; move still, still so,

And own no other function : each your doing.

So singular in each particular,

Crowns what you are doing in the present deeds.

That all your acts are queens. Ibid. Winter* s Tale.

Protestation in Love.

•' O, hear me breathe my life

Before this ancient Sir, who, it should seem.
Hath some time lov'd : 1 take thy hand ; this hand,
As soft as dove's down, and as white as it ;
Or Ethiopian s tooth, or the fann'd snow,
That's bolted by the northern blasts twice o'er.

Shakespeare's Winter's Tale.

Love complaining.

Ay, Protheus, but that life is alter'd now ;
I have done penance for contemning Love,
Whose high imperious thoughts have punish'd me
With bitter fasts, with penitential groans.
With nightly tears, and daily heart-sore sighs :
For in revenge of my contempt of Love,
Love hath chas'd sleep from my enthralled eyes.
And made them watchers of mine own heart's sorrow.
O gentle Protheus, Love's a mighty lord.
And hath so humbled me, as 1 confess
There is no woe to his correction ;
Nor to his service, any joy on earth ;
Now no discourse except it be of Love ;
Now can I break my fast, dine, sup, and sleep,
Upon the very simple name of Love.

Shakespeare's Two Gent, of Verona.

PITY.

Pity is benevolence to the afflicted. It is a mix-
ture of love for an object that suffers, and a giief
that we aie not able to remote those sufferings. It
shows itself in a compassionate tenderness of voice, a
feeling of pain in the countenance, and a gentle rais-
ing and falling of the hands and eyes, as if mourning

326 SLEMENTS OF

over the unhappy object. The mouth is open, the
eye-broAvs are drawn down, and the features contract-
ed or drawn together. See p. 314, 315.

Pity inpiaintive narration.

As in a theatre the eyes of men,
After a well-grac'd actor leaves the stage.
Are idly bent on him that enters next,
Thinking his prattle to be tedious,
Even so, or w^ith much more contempt, men's eyes
Did scowl on Richard ; no man cry'd God save him ;
No joyful tongue gave him his welcome home :
But dust was thrown upon his sacred head ;
Which with such gentle sorrow he shook off —
His face still combating with tears and smiles,
The badges of his grief and patience, —
That had not God, for some strong purpose, steel'd
The hearts of men, they must perforce have melted.
And barbarism itself have pitied him.
But heaven hath a hand in those events ;
To whose high will we bound our calm contents.

Shakespeare^ s Rich. II.

Pity for falling greatness.

Ah, Richard ! with eyes of heavy mind,
I see thy glory like a shooting star.
Tall to the base earth, from the firmament !
Thy sun sits weeping in the lowly west,
Witnessing storms to come, woe and unrest ;
Thy friends are fled, to wait upon thy foes,
And crossly to thy good all fortune goes. Ibid.

Pity for a departed Friend.

Alas ! Poor Yorick ! I knev/ him, Horatio ; a fellow of in-
finite jest, of most excellent fancy : he hath borne me on his
back a thousand times : and now how abhorred in my imagin-
ation it is ; my gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that
I have kissed, I know not how oft. Where be your gibes row ?
Your gambols ? Your songs ? Your flashes of merriment,
that were wont to set the table on a roar ? Not one now to
mock your own grinning ? Quite chop-fallen ? Now get
you to my lady's chamber, and tell her, let her paint an inch
thick, to this favour she must come j make her laugh at that. —

Jbid. Hamlet.

ELOCUTION. 327

Pity for the object beloved.

Poor lord ! is 't I
That chase thee from thy country, and expose
Those tender limbs of thine to the event
Of the none- sparing war ? and is it I
That drive thee from the sportive court, where thou
A^ ast shot at with fair eyes, to be the mark
Of smoky muskets ? O you leaden messengers,
That ride upon the violent speed of fire.
Fly with false aim : move the still-piercing air.
That sings with piercing, do not touch my lord !
Whoever shoots at him, 1 set him there ;
Whoever charges on his forward breast,
1 am the catiff, that do hold him to it ;
And, though I kill him not, 1 am the cause
His death was soeflFected : better 'twere
1 met the raven lion when he roar'd
With sharp constraint of hunger ; better 'twere
That all the miseries which nature owes,
Were mine at once : No, come thou home, Rou.cflJon,
Whence honour but of danger wins a scar ;
As oft it loses all ; I will be gone :
My being here it is, that holds thee hence ;
Shall I stay here to do't ? no, no, although
The air of paradise did fan the house.
And angels offic'd all ! I will be gone.

Shakespeare's AWs WelU ^c.

Pity for youth over-watched.

Luc- I have slept, my lord, already.

Bru It was well done ; and thou shalt sleep again j
I shall not hold thee long : if 1 do live,
I will be good to thee. i Musicit and a song.

This is a sleepy tune ; O murd'rous slumber !
Liy'st thou thy leaden mace upon my boy,
That plays thee musick ? —Gentle knave, good night ,;
I will not do thee so much wrong to wake thee.
If thou dost nod, thou break'st thy instrument ;
I'll take it from thee, and, good boy, good night !

Ibid. Jul, Cm.

HOPE.

Hope is a mixture of desire and joy, agitating
the mind, and anticipating its enjoyment. It e-

328 ELEMENTS OF

rects and and brightens the countenance, spreads the
arms, with the hands open, as to receive the object
of its wishes : the voice is plaintive, and inclining to
eagerness ; the breath drawn inwiirds more forcibly
than usual, in order to express our desires the more
strongly, and our earnest expectation of receiving the
object of them.

Collins, in his Ode on the Passions, gives us a
beautiful picture of Hope :

But thou, O Hope, with eyes so fair,

What was thy delighted measure ?

Still it whisper'd pi omis'd pleasure,

And bade the lovely scenes at distance hail j

Still would her touch the strain prolong.

And from the rocks, the woods, the vale.

She call'd on echo still through all the song ;

And where her sweetest theme she chose,

A soft responsive voice was heard at every close.

And Hope, enchanted, smil'd, and wav'd her golden hair.

Hope from approaching Nuptials.

Now, fair HippoHta, our nuptial hour
Draws on apace, four happy days brings in
Another moon ; but oh ! methinks, how slow
This old moon wanes I she lingers my desires,
Like to a step dame, or a dowager,
Long-withering out a young man's revenue.

Shakesp. Midsum. Night's Dream.

Hope of good tidings.

O Hope, sweet flatterer, whose delusive touch
Sheds on afflicted minds the balm of comfort ;
Relieves the load of poverty ; sustain s
The captive bending with the weight of bonds,
And smooths the pillow of disease and pain ;
Send back th' exploring messenger with joy,
And let me hail thee from that friendly grove.

Glover s Boadicea,

HATRED, AVERSION.
When, by frequent reflection on :i disagreeable ob-
ject, our disapprobation of it is attended witha disin-

ELOCUTION". 329

clination of mind - towards it, it is called hatred.
When our hatred and disapprobation of any object
are accompanied with a painlul sensation upon the
apprehension of its presence or approach, there fol-
lows an inclination to avoid it, called aversion.

Hatred, or aversion, draws back the body as to
avoid the hated object ; the hands at the same time
thrown out spread, as if to keep it oE The face
is turned away from that side towards which the hands
are thrown out; the eyes looking angrily, and obliquely
the same way the hands are directed; the eye- brows iire
contracted, the upper lip disdainfully drawn up, and
the teeth set ; the pitch of the voice is low, but loud
and harsh, the tone chiding, unequal, surly, and
vehement, the sentences are short and abrupt.

A description and example of this passion from
Shakespeare is given in the introduction to these
examples, p. 313. To these we shall add a few
others :

Hatred cursing the object hated.

Poison be their drink,
Gall, worse than gall, the daintiest meat they taste ;
Their sweetest shade a grove of cypress trees.
Their sweetest prospects murd'ring basilisks.
Their softest touch as smart as lizard's stings.
Their musick frightful as the serpent's hiss,
And boding screech-owls make the concert full ;
All the foul terrours of dark-seated hell. Shakesp.Hen. VI.

This seems imitated by Dr. Tmng.

Why get thee gone, horrour and night go with thee.
Sisters of Acheron, go hand in hand.
Go dance about tlie bow'r and close them in ;
And tell them that I sent you to salute them.
Profane the ground, and for th' ambrosial rose
And breath of jessamin, let hemlock blacken,
And deadly night-shade poison all the air :
For the sweet nightingale may ravens croak.
Toads pant, and adders rustle through the leaves :
May serpents, winding up the trees, let fall
42

530 ELEMENTS OF

Their hissing necks upon them from above,
And mingle kisses — such as I would give them.

Revenge.

Hatred of a rival in glory.

He is my bane, I cannot beat him ;
One heaven and earth can never hold us both ;
Still shall we hate, and with defiance deadly
Keep rage alive till one be lost for ever ;
As if two suns should meet in one meridian,
And strive in fiery combat for the passage.

Roiue's Tamerlane.

ANGER, RAGE, FURY.

When hatred and displeasure rise high on a sud-
den from an apprehension of injury received, and
perturbation of mind in consequence of it, it is called
anger ; and rising to a very high degree, and ex-
tinguishing humanity, becomes rage and iury.

Anger, when violent, expresses itself with rapidity^
noise, harshness, and sometimes with interruption
and hesitation, as if unable to utters itself with suf-
ficient force. ;^It wrinkles the brows, enlarges and
heaves the nostrils, strains the muscles, clinches the
fist, stamps with the foot, and gives a violent agitation
to the whole body. The voice assumes the high-
est tone it €an adopt consistently with force and loud-
ness, jthough sometimes to express anger with un-
common energy, the voice assumes a low and for-
cible tone.

Narrative In suppressed Anger.

My liege, I did deny no prisoners.
But I remember when the fight was done,
When I was dry with rage, and extreme toil.
Breathless and faint, leaning upon my sword,
Came there a certain lord, neat, trimly dress'd.
Fresh as a bridegroom ; and his chin, new reap'd>
Shovv'd like a stubble land at harvest-home :
He was perfumed like a milliner ;
And 'twixt his finger and his thumb he held

ELOCUTION. S3\

A pouncet-box which ever and anon,

He gave his nose, and took't away again ;—

Who, therewith angry when it next came there,

Took it in snufF — and still he smil'd and talk'd.

And as the soldiers bore dead bodies by,

He call'd them — untaught knaves, unmannerly,

To bring a slovenly, unhandsome corse

Betwixt the wind and his nobility.

With many holiday and lady terms,

He question'd me, among the rest demanded

My prisoners, in your majesty's behalf.

I then all smarting with my wounds being cold,

To be so pestered with a popinjay.

Out of my grief and my impatience

Answer'd neglectingly, I know not what,

He should, or he should not ; — for he made me mad.

To see him shine so brisk, and smell so sweet.

And talk so like a waiting gentlewoman.

Of guns, and drums, and wounds, (heav'n save the mark!)

And telling me the sovereign's! thing on earth.

Was parmacity for an inward bruise ;

And that it was great pity, so it was.

That villanous salt-petre should be digg'd

Out of the bowels of the harmless earth.

Which many a good tall fellow had destroy'd

So cowardly ; and but for these vile guns.

He would himself have been a soldier.

This bald, unjointed chat of his, my lord,

I answer'd indirectly, as I said,

And I beseech jou, let not his report,

Come current for an accusation.

Betwixt my love and your high majesty.

Shakespeare's Henry IV, First PaH.

Scorn and violent Anger., reproving.

Tut! tut!
Grace me no grace, nor uncle me no uncle,
I am no traitor's uncle ; and that word — grace
In an ungracious mouth is but profane ;
Why have those banish'd and forbidden legs
Dar'd once to touch a dust of England's ground ?
But more than why — Why have they dar'd to march
So many miles upon her peaceful bosom ;
Frighting her pale fac'd villages with war.
And ostentation of despised arms ?
Com'st thou because the anointed king is hence ?

$Si £L£M£KTS OF

Why foolish boy, the king is left behind, .

And in my loyal bosom lies his pow'r.

Were I but now the lord of such hot youth

As when brave Gaunt, thy father, and myself

Rescu'd the Black Prince, that young Mars of men.

From forth the ranks of many thousand French ;

Oh, then, how quickly should this arm of mine.

Now prisoner to the palsy, chastise thee.

And minister correction to thy fault ! Shakes. Rich. //.

REVENGE.

Revenge is a propensity and endeavour to injure
the ofFender^ which is attended widi triumph and ex-
ultation when the injury is accomplished. It ex-
presses itself like malice, but more openly, loudly,
and triumphandy.

Determined Revenge.

I know not : If they speak but truth of her

These hands shall tear her ; if they wrong her honour.

The proudest of them shall well hear of it.

Time hath not yet so dry'd this t4ood of mine.

Nor age so eat up my invention.

Nor fortune made such havock of my means.

Nor my bad life 'reft me so much of friends,

But they shall find awak'd in such a kind.

Both strength of limb and policy of mind.

Ability in means, and choice of friends

To quit me of them thoroughly. IbiJ, Much Adoy ^,

Eager Revenge.

Oh, I could play the woman with mine eyes.

And braggart with my tongue ! — But, gentle heav'n^

Cut short all intermission : front to front.

Bring thou this fiend of Scotland, and myself;

Within my sword's length set him ; if he 'scape,

Heav'n forgive him too ! Shakes. Macbeth.

Unrestrained Pury.

Alive ! in triumph ! and Mercutio slain I
Away to heaven, respective lenity^ ^

ELOCUTION. S3S

And fire^'d fury be my conduct now !— .

Now, Tybalt, take the villain back again,

That late thou gav'st me ; for Mercutio's soOl

Is but a little way above our heads

Staying for thine to keep him company,

And thou or I, or both, shall follow him.

»■ Roftieo and Juliet i

REPROACH.

Reproach is settled anger or hatred chastising the
object of dislike, by casting in his teeth the severest
censures upon his imperiections or misconduct :
the brow is contracted, the lip turned up with scorn,
the head shaken, the voice low, as if abhorring, and
the whole body expressive of aversion.

Reproaching with Stupidity and Inconstancy.

Wherefore rejoice ? What conquest brings he home ?

What tributaries follow him to Rome,

To grace in captive bonds his chariot wheels ?

You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things I

O, you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome,

Knew ye not Pompey ? Many a time and oft

Have you climb'd up to walls and battlements.

To tow'rs and windows, yea, to chimney tops.

Your infants in your arms, and there have sat

The live-long day, with patient expectation.

To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome :

And when you saw his chariot but appear.

Have you not made an universal shout,

That Tyber trembled underneath his banks,

To hear the replication of your sounds.

Made in his concave shores ?

And do you now put on your best attire ?

And do you now cull out a holiday ?

And do you now strew flowers in his way.

That comes in triumph over Pompey's blood ?

Be gone ;

Run to your houses ; fall upon your knees,

P:ay to the gods to intermit the plague.

That needs must light on this ingratitude.

Shahesp. Jul. Cas

334 ELEMENTS OF

Reproaching nuith want of Friendship,

You have done that you should be sorry for.
There is no terrour, Cassius, in your threats ;
For 1 am arm'd so strong in honesty.
That they pass by me, as the idle wind.
Which 1 respect not. I did send to you
For certain sums of gold, which you deny'd me ;
For I can raise no money by vile means j
No, Cassius, I had rather coin my heart,
And drop my blood for drachmas, than to wring
From the hard hands of peasants their vile trash
By any indirection. I did send
To you for gold to pay my legions.
Which you deny'd me : Was that done like Cassius ?
Should 1 have answer'd Caius Cassius so ?
When Marcus Brutus grows so covetous.
To lock such rascal-counters from his friends,
Be ready, gods, with all your thunderbolts,
Dash him to pieces. lUd,

Reproaching nvith want of Manliness.

O proper stuff !
This is the very painting of your fears ;
This is the air-drawn dagger, which, you said,
Led you to Duncan. Oh, these flaws and starts,
(Impostors to true fear) would well become
A woman's story, at a winter's fire,
Authoriz'd by her grandam. Shame itself!
Why do you make such faces ? When all's done,
You look but on a stool. Ibid. Macbeth:

Reproaching with want of Courage and Spirit,

Thou slave, thou vrretch, thou coward,

Thou little valiant, great in villany !
Thou ever strong upon the stronger side !
Thou fortune's champion, thou dost never fight
But when her humorous ladyship is by
To teach thee safety ! thou art perjur'd too.
And sooth'st up greatness. What a fool art thoUj
A ramping fool ; to brag and stamp, and swear.
Upon my party ! Thou cold-blooded slave.
Hast thou not spoke like thunder on my side.
Been sworn my soldier ? Bidding me depend
Upon thy stars, thy fortune, and thy strength I

ELOCUTION. "§35

And dost thou now fall over to my foes ?
Thou -wear a lion's hide ! doflPit for shame.
And hang a calf's skin on those recreant limbs.

King John*

FEAR AND TERROUR.

Fear is a mixture of aversion and sorrow, discom-
posing and debilitating the mind upon the approach
or anticipation of evil. When this is attended with
surprise and much discomposure, it grows into ter-
rour and consternation.

Fear, violent and sudden, opens wide the eyes and
mouth, shortens the nose, gives the countenance an
air of wildness, covers it with deadly paleness, draws
back the elbows parallel with the sides, lifts up the
open hands, with the fingers spread, to the height of
the breast, at some distance before it, so as to shield
it from the dreadful object. One foot is drawn back
behind the other, so that the body seems shrinking
from the danger, and putting itself in a posture for
flight. The heart beats violently, the breath is
quick and short, and the whole body is thrown
into a general tremour. The voice is weak and
trembling, the sentences are short, and the meaning
confused and incoherent.

Terrour before dreadful Actions described.

Between the acting of a dreadful thing.
And the first motion, all the interim is
Like a phantasma, or a hideous dream ;
The genius, and the mortal instruments,
Are then in council, and the state of man,
Like to a little kingdom, suffers then
The nature of an insurrection. Shakespeare's Jul. Cft.

Terrour of Evening and Night described.

Light thickens, and the crow

Makes wing to the rooky wood ;

Good things of day begin to droop and drowse :

While night's black agents to their prey do rouse.

S36 ELEMENTS OF

Thou marvell'st at my words : but hold thee still ;
Things, bad begun, make strong themselves by ill.

/bid. Macleth.

Fear from a dreadful Object.

Angels and ministers of grace defend us —
Be thou a spirit of health, or goblin damn'd,
Bring with thee airs from heav'n, or blasts from hell,
Be thy intents wicked or charitable.
Thou com'st in such a questionable shape
That I will speak to thee.
Save me, and hover o'er me with your wings,
You heav'nly guards ! — what would your gracious figure ?

Ibid. Hamlet.

Horrour at a dreadful Apparition,

How ill this taper burns ! ha ! who comes here ?
I think it is the weakness of my eyes,
That shapes this monstrous apparition —
It comes upon me — Art thou any thing ?
Art thou some God, some angel, or some devil.
That mak'st my blood cold, and my hair to start.
Speak to me, what thou art. Ibid. Julius Casar,

Terrour from committing Murder.

Mac. I've done the deed — didst not thou hear a noise ?

Lady. I heard the owl scream, and the crickets cry.
Did you not speak ?

Mac. When ?

Lady. Now.

Mac. As I descended ?

Lady. Ay.

Mac. Hark ! — who lies i* th' second chamber ?

Lady. Donalbain.

Mac. This is a sorry sight.

Lady. A foolish thought to say a sorry sight.

Mac. There's one did laugh in his sleep, and one cry'd
murder !
That they did wake each other ; I stood and heard them :
But they did say their pray'rs, and address'd them

Again to sleep <

Shakespeare s Macbeth.

ELOCUTION. 337

Fear of being discovered in Murder,

Alas, I am afraid they have awak'd,
And 'tis not done ; th' attempt, and not the deed.

Confounds us Hark ! I laid the daggers ready.

He could not miss them. Had he not resembled
My father as he slept, I had done it.

Shakespeare^ s Macbeth,

SORROW.

Sorrow is a painful depression of spirit, upon the
deprivation of good, or arrival of evil ; when it is
silent and thoughtful, it is sadness ; when long in-
dulged, so as to prey upon and possess the mind, it
becomes habitual, and grows into melancholy ; when
tossed by hopes and fears, it is distraction ; when
these are swallowed up by it, it settles into despair.

In moderate sorrow, the countenance is dejected,
the eyes are cast downward, the arms hang loose,
sometimes a little raised, suddenly to fall again ; the
hands open, the fingers spread, and the voice plaintive,
frequently interrupted with sighs. But when this
passion is in excess, it distorts the countenance, as
if in agonies of pain ; it raises the voice to the loud-
est complainings, and sometimes even to cries and
shrieks ; it WTings the hands, beats the head and
breast, tears the hair, and throws itself on the ground ;
and, like other passions, in excess, seems to border
on frenzy.

Sadness,

Anth. In sooth, I know not why I am so sad.
It wearies me ; you say it wearies you :
But how I caught it, found it, or came by it.
What stuff 'tis made of, whereof it is born,
I am to learn. ;

And such a want-wit sadness makes of me.
That I have much ado to know myself.

Gra. You look not well, signor Anthonio ;
You have too much respect upon the world :
They lose it that do buy it with much care ;
43 ^\ /

338 ELEMEITTS OF

Believe me, you are marvellously chang'd.

jinth. I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano ;
A stage, where every one must play his part ;
And mine's a sad one. Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice.

Deep Melancholy described.

She never told her love,
But let concealment, like a worm i' th' bud.
Feed on her damask cheek. She pln*d in thought,
And with a green and yellow melancholy
She sat like Patience on a monument
Smiling at Grief. Ibid, Twelfth Night.

Pensive foreboding.

My mother had a maid call'd Barbara,
She was in love ; and he she lov'd prov'd mad,
And did forsake her : she had a song of willow
An old thing 'twas, but it express'd her fortune,
And she dy'd singing it : That song to night
Will not go from my mind, I have much to do
But to go hang my head all o' one side,
And sing it like poor Barbara. Ibid. Othello.

Silent Grief.

Seems, madam ! nay, it is : I know not seems,
'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor windy suspiration of forc'd breath ;
No, nor the fruitful river in the eye,
Nor the dejected 'haviour of the visage.
Together with all forms, modes, shows of grief
That can denote me truly : These indeed seem,
For they are actions that a man might play ;
But I have that within which passeUi show.
These but the trappings and the fruits of woe.

Ibid. Hamlet,

Inward Sorrow.

Say that again.
The shadow of my sorrow ! Ha ! let's see :—
'Tis very true, my grief lies all within ;
And these external manners of lament

ELOCUTION. 339

Are merely shadows to the unseen grief
That swells with silence in my tortured soul ;
There lies the substance : and I thank thee, king}
For thy great bounty, that not only giv'st
Me cause to wail, but teachest me Uie way
How to lament the cause. I'll beg one boon,
And then be gone, and trouble you no more.

IbiJ. Rich. H.

Sorrow forgetful of Us Intentions.

Yet one word more ; — Grief boundeth where it falls,
Not with the empty hollowness, but weight ;
I take my leave before I have begun.
For sorrow ends not when it seemeth done.
Commend me to my brother, Edmund York,
Lo, this is all : — nay, yet depart not so ;
Though this be all, do not so quickly go,
I shall remember more. Bid him — Oh, what ?
With all good speed at Flashy visit me.
Alack, and what shall good old York there see.
But empty lodgings, and unfurnish'd walls,
Unpeopled offices, untrodden stones ?
And what hear there for welcome but my groans ?
Therefore commend me ; let him not come there
To seek out sorrow that dwells every where j
Desolate, desolate, will I hence, and die ;
The last leave of thee takes my weeping eye.

Ibid. Rich. II.

Grief deploring loss of Happiness.

I had been happy, if the general camp,

Pioneers and all, had wrong'd my love.

So had I nothing known : O now for ever,

Farewell the tranquil mind ; farewell content.

Farewell the plumed troop and the big war

That make ambition virtue ! O farewell.

Farewell the neighing steed, and the shrill trump,

The spirit-stirring drum, the ear piercing fife.

The royal banner, and all quality.

Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war !

Farewell ! Othello's occupation's gone. Bid. Othello..

Grief approaching to Madness.

Paad. Lady, you utter madness, and«iot sorrow.
Const. Thou art unholy to belie me 60 ;

340 ELEMENTS OF

I am not mad ; this hair I tear is mine ;

My name is Constance ; I was Geffrey's wife ;

Young Arthur is my son, and he is lost :

I am not mad ; — I would to heaven I were !

For then 'tis like I should forget myself :

Oh, if I could, what grief should I forget !

Preach some philosophy to make me mad.

And, cardinal, thou shalt be canoniz'd ;

For, being not mad, but sensible of grief.

My reasonable part produces reason

How I may be delivered of these woes.

And teaches me to kill or hang myself:

If 1 were mad, I should forget my son.

Or madly think a babe of clouts were he ;

I am not mad ; too well, too well I feel

The different plague of each calamity. Ib'td. King John,

Grief mixed tvith Pity, assuming a Smile.

Grief fills the room up of my absent child.

Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me y

Puts on his pretty locks, repeats his words,

Remembers me of all his gracious parts.

Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form.

Then have 1 reason to be fond of grief. Ibid.

Grief approaching to Distraction.

Thou canst not speak of what thou dost not feel ;

Wert thou as young as I, Juliet thy love.

An hour but married, Tybalt murder'd,

Doating like me, and like me banished.

Then might'st thou speak, then might'st thou tear thy

hair,
And fall upon the ground as 1 do now,
Taking the measure of an unmade grave.

Ibid. Romeo and Juliet.

Grief choking Expression.
Macd. My children too

Rosse. Wife, children, servants, all that could be found 1

Macd. And 1 must be from thence ! my wife kill'd too ?

Rosse. I've said.

Mai. Be comforted.
Let's make ift med'cines of our great revenge.
To cure this 'aeadly gnef.

ELOCUTIOIT. 341

Macd. He has no children !
What all my pretty ones ? Did you say all ?
Wliat, all ?

Mai. Endure it like a man.

Macd. I shall.
But I must also feel it as a man.
I cannot but remember such things were
That were most precious to me : did heav'n look on,
And would not lake their part ? Sinful Macduff,
They were all struck for thee ! naught that I am !
Not for their own demerits, but for mine,
Fell slaughter on their souls : heaven rest them now.

Ibid. Machethc

REMORSE.

Remorse, or a painful remembrance of criminal
actions or pursuits, casts down the countenance, and
clouds it with anxiety, hangs down the head, shakes
it with regret, just raises the eyes as if to look up,
and suddenly casts them down again with sighs ; the
right hand sometimes beats the breast, and the whole
body writhes as with self aversion. The voice has
a harshness as in hatred, and inclines to a low and
reproacliful tone.

Keen Remorse for Drunkenness.

I remember a mass of things, but nothing distinctly; a
quarrel, but nothing wherefore. O that men should putan enemy
in their mouths to steal away their brains! that we should with
joy, pleasure, revel, and applause, transform ourselves into
beasts ! I will ask him for my place again ; he shall tell me I
am a drunkard : Had I as many mouths as Hydra, such an
answer would stop them all. To be now a sensible man, by
and by a fool, and presently a beast ! O strange ! every inor-
dinate cup is unblessed, and the ingredient is a devil.

IHd. Othello.

Remorse for Treachery and Ingratitude.

I am alone the villain of the earth ;

And feel I am so most. O Anthony,

Thou mine of bounty, how wouldst thou have paid

342 ELEMENTS OT

My better service, when my turpitude

Thou dost so crown with gold ! This blows my heart j

If swift thought break it not, a swifter mean

Shall out-strike thought ; but thought will do't I feel

I fight against thee ! — No : I will go seek

Some ditch wherein to die ; the foulest best

Befits my latter part of life. ^id. Ant. and Cleo,

Reproach and Remorse for Murder of an innocent Child.

Oh, when the last account 'twixt heaven and earth
Is to be made, then shall tliis hand and seal
Witness against us to damnation !
How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds
Makes deeds ill done ! Hadst thou not been by,
A fellow by tlie hand of Nature mark'd.
Quoted and sign'd to do a deed of shame.
This murder had not come into my mind.
But taking note of thy abhorr'd aspect,
Finding thee fit for bloody villany
Apt, liable to be employed in danger,
1 faintly broke with thee of Arthur's death j
And thou to be endeared to a king,
Mads't it no conscience to destroy a prince.

Ibid. King John]

DESPAIR.

Despair, as in a condemned criminal, or one who
has lost all hope of salvation, bends the eye-brows
downwards, clouds the forehead, rolls the eyes fright-
fully, opens the mouth horizontally, bites the lips,
widens the nostrils, and gnashes the teeth. The
arms are sometimes bent at the elbows, the fists
clinched hard, the veins and muscles swelled, the
skin livid, the whole body strained and violently ag-
itated ; while groans of inward torture are more fre-
quently uttered than words. If any words, they are
few, and expressed with a sullen eager bitterness,
the tone of the voice often loud and furious, and
sometimes in the same note for a considerable time.
This state of human nature is too t right! ul to dwell
upon, and almost improper lor imitation ; for if death

ELOCUTION. 343

-cannot be counterfeited without too much shocking
our humanity ; despair, w^hich exhibits a stiite ten
thousand times more terril^le than death, ought to be
viewed with a kind of reverence to the great Author
of Nature, who seems sometimes to exhibit to us
this agony of mind as a warning to avoid that wick-
edness which produces it.

Shakespeare has most exquisitely touched this
fearful situation of human nature, where he draws
cardinal Beaufort, after a wicked life, dying in des-
pair, and terrified with the murder of duke Hum-
phrey, to which he was accessary.

K. Hen. How fares my lord ? speak, Beaufort, to thy sove-
reign.

Car. If thou be st Death I'll give thee England's treasure,
Enough to purchase such another island.
So thou wilt let me live and feel no pain.

K. Hen Ah, what a sign it is of evil life.
When death's approach is seen so terrible !

War. Beaufort, it is thy sovereign speaks to thee.

Car. Bring me to my trial when you will,
Dy'd he not in his bed ? where should he die*?
Can I make men live, whether they will or no ? —
Oh ! torture me no more, I will confess. —
Alive again ? then show me where he is,
I'll give a thousand pounds to look upon him. —
He hath no eyes, the dust hath blinded them —
Comb down his hair ; look ! look ! it stands upright,
Like lime-twigs to catch my winged soul !
Give me some drink, and bid the apothecary
Bring the strong poison that I bought of him.

K. Hen. O thou Eternal Mover of the heavens,
Look down with gentle eye upon this wretch j
O beat away the busy meddling fiend
That lays strong siege unto this wretch's soul,
And from his bosom purge this bleak despair !

IVar. See how the pangs of death do make hira grin.

Sal. Disturb him not, let him pass peaceably.

K. Hen. Peace to his soul, if God's good pleasure be !
Lord Cardinal, if thou think'st on heav'n's bliss.
Hold up thy hand, make signal of thy hope, —
He dies and makes no sign ; O God, forgive him.

Ibtd. 2d Part, Henry VI.

344f ELEMENTS OF

The bare situation of the characters, the pause,
and the few plain words of King Henry, he dies
and makes no sign ! have more of the real sublime
in them than volumes of the laboured speeches in
most of our modern tragedies, which, in the em-
phatical language of Shakespeare, may be said to
be "full of sound and fury, signify mg nothing."

SURPRISE, WONDER, AMAZEMENT, ADMIRA.

TION.

An uncommon object produces M^onder ; if it ap-
pears suddenly, it begets surprise ; surprise contin-
uing becomes amazement ; and if the object of
, wonder comes gently to the mind, and arrests the
attention by its beauty or grandeur, it excites ad-
miration, which is a mixture of approbation and
wonder ; so true is that observation of Dr. Young,
in the tragedy of the Revenge :

Late time shall wonder, that my joys shall raise,
For wonder is involuntary praise.

Wonder or amazement opens the eyes, and makes
them appear very prominent. It sometimes raises
them to the skies, but more frequently fixes them
on the object ; the mouth is open, and the hands
are held up nearly in the attitude of fear ; the voice
is at first low, but so emphatical, that every word
is pronounced slowly and with energy : When, by
the discovery of something excellent in the object
of wonder, the emotion may be called admiration,
the eyes are raised, the hands lifted up, or clapped
together, and the voice elated with expressions of
rapture.

Surprise at unexpected Events. •

Gone to be marry'd, ^one to swear a peace !
False blood to false blood join'd ! Gone to be friends !
Shall Lewis have Blanch ? and JBlanch those provinces ?

ELOCUTION.

345

It is not so : Thou hast mis-spoke, mis-heard ?

Be well advis'd, tell o'er thy tale again :

It cannot be ? thou dost but say 'tis so,

What dost thou mean by shaking of thy head ?

Why dost thou look so sadly on my son ?

What means that hand upon that breast of thine ?

Why holds thine eye that lamentable rheum,

Like a proud river peering o'er his bounds ?

Be these sad sighs confirmers of thy words ?

Then speak again ; not all thy former tale,

But this one word, whether thy tale be true.

Shakespeare s K. John.

Amazement at strange Ne<ios.

' Old men and beldames, in the streets,

Do prophesy upon it dangerously ;

\ oung Arthur's death is common in their mouths ;

And when they talk of him they shake their heads.

And whisper one another in the ear ;

And he that speaks doth gripe the hearer's wrist ;

Whilst he that hears makes fearful action,

With wrinkled brows, with nods, with rolling eyes.

I saw a smith stand with his hammer thus,

The whilst his iron did on the anvil cool,

With open mouth swallowing a tailor's news ;

Who with his shears and measure in his hand.

Standing on slippers, (which his nimble haste

Had falsely thrust upon contrary feet,)

Told of a many thousand warlike French,

That were embatteled and rank'd in Kent :

Another lean unwashed artificer

Cuts off his tale and talks of Arthur's death. f^-, Ihid\

Emphatick Climax of Astonishment.

Sir Richard, what think you ? Have you beheld.
Or, have you read, or heard ? or could you think ?
Or do you almost think, although you see,
That you do see ? Could thought, without this object,
Form such another ? This is the very top.
The height, the crest, or crest unto the crest
Of Murder's arms : This is the bloodiest shame,
The wildest savagery, the vilest stroke.
That ever wall-ey'd Wrath, or starving Rage,
Presented to the tears of soft Remorse. Jbid.

346 ELEMENTS OJF

PRIDE.

When our esteem of ourselves ; or opinion of
our own rank and merit, is so high as to lessen the
regard due to the rank and merit of others, it is call-
ed pride. When it supposes others below our re-
gard, it is contempt, scorn, or disdain.

Pride assumes a lofty look, bordering upon the
aspect and attitude of anger. The eyes full open,
but with the eye-brows considerably drawn down,
the mouth pouting, mostly shut, and the lips con-
tracted. The words are uttered with a slow, stiff,
bombastick affectation of importance ; the hands
sometimes rest on the hips, with the elbows brought
forward, in the position called a-kimbo ; the legs at
a distance from each other, the steps large and
stately.

Pride asserting Independence.

Your grace shall pardon me, I will not back ;
1 am too high born to be property'd j
To be a secondary at control.
Or useful serving-man and instrument
To any sovereign state throughout the world.
Your breath first kindled the dead coal of war
Between this chastis'd kingdom and myself,
And brought in matter that should feed this fire ;
And now 'tis far too huge to be blown out
With that same weak wind which enkindled it.
You taught me how to know the face of right,
Acquainted me with interest to this land ;
Yea, thrust this enterprize into my heart ;
And come ye now to tell me John hath made
His peace with Rome ? What is that peace to me ?
I, by the honour of my marriage bed,
After young Authur, claim this land for mine j
And, now it is half conquered, must 1 back,
Because that John hath made his peace with Rome ?
Am I Rome's slave ? What penny hath Rome borne,
» What men provided, what munition sent,
To underprop this action ? I'st not I
That undergo this charge ? Who else but I,

ELOCUTION. 347

And such as to my claim are liable.

Sweat in this business, and maintain this war ?

Have I not heard these islanders shout out,

Vive le Roy / as I have bank'd their towns ?

Have I not here the best cards for the game.

To win this easy match play'd for a crown?

J. nd shall I now give o'er the yielded set ?

No, no, on my soul, it never shall be said. Shakesp. K,Jobn.

Pride bordering on Contempt.

Worcester, get thee gone, for I do see
Danger and disobedience in thine eye :
O, sir, your presence is too bold and peremptory.
And majesty might never yet endure
The moody frontier of a servant brow.
You have have good leave to leave us ; when we need
Your use and counsel, we shall send for you.

Shahespeca-i s Hen. IV.

CONFIDENCE, COURAGE, BOASTING.

Confidence is hope, elated by security of success
in obtaining its object ; and courage is the contempt
of any unavoidable danger in the execution of what
is resolved upon : in both, the head is erect, the
breast projected, the countenance clear and open,
the accents are strong, round, and not too rapid ;
the voice firm and even. Boasting exaggerates ^ese
appearances by loudness, blustering, and what is not
iniaptly called swaggering : The arms are placed a-
kimbo, the foot stamped on the ground, the head
dra^vn back with pride, the legs take large strides^
;mcl tlie voice swells into bombast.

Conjidence in one beloved.

Base men that use them to so base effect ;
But truer stars did govern Proteus' birth ;
His words are bonds, his oaths are oracles.
His love sincere, his thought immaculate,
His tears pure mesengers sent from his heart,
His heart as far from fraud as heav'n from earth.

Shakes. Tivo Gent, oj Vcr,

348 ELEMENTS OF ^

Conjidence of Success in Combat.

Bol'mg. O let no noble eye profane a tear
For me, if I be gor'd with Mowbray's spear :
As confident as is the faulcon's flight
Against a bird, do I with Mowbray fight. —
My loving lord, 1 lake my leave of you !^
Of you, my noble cousin, lord Aumerle ; —
Not sick, although 1 have to do with death ;
But lusty, young, and cheerly drawing breath —
Lo, as at English feasts, so I regreet
> The daintiest last, to make the end most sweet.
Oh thou, the earthly author of my blood,
Whose youthful spirit in me regenerate.
Doth with a twofold vigour lift me up.
To reach at victory above my head, —
Add proof unto mine armour with my prayers ;
That it may enter Mowbray's waxen coat.
And furbish new the name of John of Gaunt,
Even in the lusty 'haviour of his son. Shakes. Rich. J J.

Moivb. However heaven or fortune cast my lot.
There lives or dies true lo king Richard's throne,
A loyal, just, and upright gentleman ;
Never did captive with a freer heart,
Cast off his chains of bondage, and embrace
His golden, uncontroU'd enfranchisement,
More than my dancing soul doth celebrate
This feast of battle with mine adversary —
Most mighty liege, — and my companion peers.
Take from my mouth the wish of happy years :
As gentle and as jocund, as to jest.
Go I to fight, truth hath a quiet breast. Uid.

Firm determined Resolution in Battle,

I am satisfied :

Caesar sits down in Alexandria, where

I will oppose his fate. Our force by land

Hath nobly held ; our sever'd navy, too,

Have knit again, and fleet, threat'ning most sea-like.

Where hast thou been, my heart ? Dost thou hear, lady ?

If from the field I should return once more.

To kiss these lips, I will appear in blood ;

I and my sword will earn my chronicle j

There is hope in it yet :

ELOCUTION. 349

I will be treble-sinew'd, hearted, breatli'd.

And fight maliciously : for when mine hours

Were nice and lucky, men did ransom lives

Of me for jests ; but now FU set my teeth,

And send to darkness all that stop me. Ibid. Ant. &f Cle9<-

:- Boasting indignant Challenge,

Show me what thou'lt do :

Woo't weep ? woo't fight ? woo't fast? woo*t tear thyself?

Won't drink up Esil ? eat a crocodile ?

I'll do't — Do'st thou come here to whine.

To outface me with leaping in her grave ?

Be buried quick with her, and so will I :

And if thou prate of mountains, let them throw

Millions of acres on us ; till our ground,

Singing its pate against the burning zone.

Make Ossa like a wart ! Nay, and thou'lt moutli,

I'll rant as well as thou Ibid. Hamlet.

PERPLEXITY, IRRESOLUTION, ANXIETY.

These emotions collect the body together as if
for thoughtful consideration ; the eye-brows are con-
tracted, the head hanging on the breast, the eyes
cast do\vnvvards, the mouth shut, the lips pursed to-
gether. Suddenly the whole body alters its aspect,
as having discovered something, then falls into con-
templation as before ; the motions of the body are
restless and unequal, sometimes moving quick, and
sometimes slow ; the pauses in speaking are long,
the tone of the voice uneven, the sentences broken
and unfinished.

Perplexity from Temptation to Evil.

From thee ; even from thy virtue I—
What's this ? what's this ? Is this her fault or mine ?
The tempter, or the tempted, who sins most ?
Not she ; nor doth she tempt ; but it is I,
That lying by the violet in the sun,
Do as the carrion docs, not as the flower.
Corrupt with virtuous season. Can it be,

350 ELEMEJfTS OF

That modesty may more betray our sense
Than woman's lightness ? Having waste ground enough,
, Shall we desire to raze the sanctuary,
And pitch our evils there ? Oh fie, fie, fie !
What dost thou ? or what art thou, Angelo ?
Dost thou desire her foully for those things
That make her good ? O let her brother live ;
Thieves for their robbery have authority.
When judges steal themselves. What ! do I love her.
That I desire to hear her speak again.
And feast upon her eyes ? What i'st I dream on ?

0 cunning enemy, that to catch a saint

With saints dost bait thy hook ! most dangerous

Is that temptation that doth goad us on

To sin in loving virtue. Shakesp. Meas. for Meas.

Perplexity from unexpected Events

Heaven for his mercy ! what a tide of woer
Comes rushing on this woful land at once !

1 know not what to do : — I would to heav'n
(So my untruth hath not provok'd him to it)
The king had cut off my head with my brother's. —
What, are there posts despatch'd for Ireland ?—
How shall we do for money for these wars ?
Come, sister, — cousin, I would say ; pray pardon me.
Go, fellow, get thee home, provide some carts.
And bring away the armour that is there.—
Grentlemen, will you go muster men ? If I know
How, or which way, to order these affairs.

Thus disorderly thrust into my hands.

Never believe me. Both are my kinsmen : —

The one's my sovereign, whom both my oath

And duty bids defend ; the other again

Is my kinsman, whom the king has wrong'd ;

Whom conscience and my kindred bids to right.

Well, somewhat we must do — Come, cousin, I'll

Dispose of you : go muster up your men.

And meet me presently at Berkley : Gentlemen,

I should to Plashy too ; —

But time will not permit : — All is uneven,

And every thing is left at six and seven. lUd. Rich. IL

Perplexity i hotv to act on sudden Surprise.

Yes ;— 'tis Emilia : — by and by — She's dead.
'Tis like she comes to speak of Cassio's death :

ELOCUTION. 851

Tlie noise was high. — Ha 1 no more moving ?
Still as the grave. — Shall she come in, wer't good ?
I think she stirs again : — No. — What's the best,
If she come in she'll sure speak to my wife.

iiuUtetp. OtheHe.

VEXATION.

Vexation, besides expressing itselfwith the looks,
gestures, tone, and restlessness of perplexity, adds
to these, complaint, fretting, and remorse.

Vexation at neglecting one's duiy,

O what a rogue and peasant slave am I !
Is it not monstrous, that this player here.
But in a fiction, in a dream of passion.
Could force his soul so to his own conceit.
That from her working, all his visage warm'd.
Tears in his eyes, distraction in's aspect,
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit ! and all for nothing j
For Hecuba !

What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,
That he should weep for her ? lUd, Hamlei.

PEEVISHNESS.

Peevishness is an habitual proneness to anger on ev-
ery slight occasion, and may be called a lower degree
of anger : it expresses itself, therefore, like anger, but
more moderately, with half sentences and broken
speeches uttered hastily. The upper lip is disdain-
fully drown up, and the eyes are cast obliquely upon
the object of displeasure.

Trot. What, art thou angry, Pandarus ? What with me ]

Pan. Because she's akin to me ; therefore, she's not so fair
as Helen ; an she were not kin to me, she would be as fair on
Friday as Helen is on Sunday. But what care I ? I care not
an she were a blackamoor, 'tis all one to me.

Trot. Say I she is not fair ?

Pan. I do not care whether you do or no. She's a fool tw
'tav behind her father ; let her to thr; Greeks — and so I'll tel;

352 ELEMENTS OF

her the next time I see her — ^for my part, I'll meddle nor make
no more i'th' matter.

Troi. Pandarus —

Pan. Not I.

Trot. Sweet Pandarus

Pan. Pray you speak no more to me — I will leave all as I
found it — and there's an end. Shakes. Trod, and Crest.

ENVY.

'Ejayy is a mixture of joy, sorrow, and hatred : it
is a sorrow arising from the happiness of others en-
joying a good which we desire, and think we de-
serve, or a pleasure we receive upon their losing this
good, for which we hated them. It is nearly akin to
malice, but much more moderate in its tones and
gestures.

-. Aside the devil turn'd.

For envy, yet, with jealous leer malign,

Ey'd them askance, and to himself thus plain*d.

Sight-hateful, sighl-tormenting ! thus these two,
Imparadis'd in one another's arms,
The happier Eden, shall enjoy their fill
Of bliss on bliss : while I to hell am thrust.
Where neither joy nor love, but fierce desire.
Among our other torments not the least,
Still unfulfiU'd with pain of longing pines.

Mdton^s Paradise Lost. Book iv. v. 502.

MALICE.

Malice, is an habitual malevolence long continu-
ed, and watching occasion to exert itself on the hat-
ed object. This hateful disposition sets the jaws,
or gnashes the teeth, sends blasting flashes from the
eyes, stretches the mouth horizontally, clinches both
the fists, and bends the elbows in a straining man-
ner to the body. The tone of voice and expression
are much the same as in anger, but not so loud.

How like a fawning publican he looks :
I hate him, for he is a Christian,

'ELOCUTION. 853

But more for that in low simplicity.

He lends out money gratis, and brings down

The rate of usance here with us in Venice.

If I can catch him once upon the hip,

I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him.

He hates our sacred nation, and he rails

Dv'n there, where merchants most do congregate.

On me, my bargains, and my well-won thrift,

Wliich he calls interest. Cursed be my tribe

If I forgive him. Shakes. Merchant of Venice.

SUSPICION, JEALOUSY.

Fear of another's endeavouring to prevent our at-
tainment of the got)d desired, raises our suspicion ;
and suspicion of his having obtained, or of being
likely to obtain it, raises or constitutes jealousy.
Jealousy between the sexes is a ferment of love, hat-
red, hope, fear, shame, anxiety, grief, pity, envy,
pride, rage, cruelty, vengeance, madness, and every
other tormenting passion which can agitate the hu-
man mind. Therefore, to express jealousy well,
one ought to know how to represent justly all these
passions by turns, and often several of them together.
Jealousy shows itself by restlessness, peevishness,
thoughtfulness, anxiety, and absence of mind.
Sometimes it bursts out into piteous complaint, and
weeping ; then a gleam of hope, that all is yet well,
lights up the countenance into a momentiu*y smile.
Immediately the face, clouded with a general gloom,
shews the mind overcast again with horrid suspic-
ions and frightful imaginations. Thus the jealous
man is a prey to the most tormenting feelings, and is
alternately tantalized by hope, and plunged into des-
pair. Shakespeare, as if unable to express these
feelings, makes Othello cry out,

But oh ! what damned minutes tells he o'er
Who doats yet doubts, suspects yet strongly loves 1

554 ELEMENTS OF

Surprise in Jealousy commencing.

Think, my lord ! — O heav'n, he echoes me !
As if there were some monster in his thought
Too hideous to be shown — Thou dost mean something :
I heard thee say but now — Thou lik'dst not that.
When Cassio left my wife — What didst not like ?
And when I told thee he was of my counsel
In my whole course of wooing, thou cry'dst, indeed!
And didst contract and purse thy brow together.
As if thou hadstshut up within thy brain,
Some horrible conceit : if thou dost love me.
Show me thy thought. Shahesp. Othello^

Suspicion and Jealousy commencing.

Leo. Too hot, too hot :
To mingle friendship far, is mingling bloods.
I have a tremor cordis on me : — my heart dances ;
But not for joy, — not joy. — This entertainment
May a free face put on ; derive a liberty
From heartiness, from bounty, fertile bosom.
And well become the agent : it may, I grant ;
But to be paddling palms, and pinching fingers.
As now they are ; and making practis'd smiles,
As in a looking-glass ; and then to sigh as 'twere
The mort o' the deer ; O that is entertainment
My bosom likes not, nor my brows j — Mamilius,
Art thou my boy ? Ibid. tVinter's Tale.

Jealousy increasing.

Go to, go to.

How she holds up the neb, the bill to him,

And arms her with the boldness of a wife.

To her allowing husband ! Gone already ;

Inch-thick, knee deep, o'er head and ears a fork'd one.— -

Go, play, boy, play ; — thy mother plays, and I

Play too, but so disgrac'd a part, whose issue.

Will hiss me to my grave ; contempt and clamoui'

Will be my knell. — Go, play, boy, play —

There have been.

Or I am much deceiv'd, cuckolds ere now,

And maoy a maa there is ev'n at this present>

ELOCUTION.

355

Now while I speak this, holds his wife by the arm,
That little thinks she hath been false in his absence.

Shakespeare' t IVintei'tTal^.

Attempt to hide Jealousy.

Her. Are you mov*d, my lord ?

Leo. No, in good earnest. —
How sometimes nature will betray its folly^
Its tenderness ; and and make itself a pastime
To harder bosoms ! looking on the lines
Of my boy's face, methoughts, I did recoil
Twenty-three years ; and saw myself unbreech'd>
In my green velvet coat ; my dagger muzzled.
Lest it should bite its master, and so prove.
As ornament oft does, too dangerous.—
How like, methought, I then was to this kernel,
This squash, this gentleman :— Mine honest friend.
Will you take eggs for money I lUdtnt.

Jealousy confirmed.

Dost think I am so muddy, so unsettled.
To appoint myself in this vexation, sully
The purity and whiteness of my sheets.
Which, to preserve, is sleep ; which, being spotted^
Is goads, thorns, nettles, tails of wasps ? . .

Give scandal to the blood o* th' prince my son.
Who, I do think is mine, and love as mine.
Without ripe moving to't ? Would I do this ?
Could man so blench ? Ihidan.

Jealousy mxed itnth Grief.

How blest am I
In my just censure ! in my true opinion !—
Alack for lesser knowledge ! — how accursed
In being so bless'd ! There may be in the cup
A spider steep'd, and one may drink, depart,
And yet partake no venom, for his knowledge
Is not infected ; but if one present
The abhorr'd ingredient to his eye, make known
How he hath drunk, he cracks his gorge, his sides,
With violent hefts.— I have drunk, and seen the spider !

Ibidem.

Sfi)6' XLEMEKTS OF

Jealousy mixed v/ith Rage and Regret.

This fellow *s of exceeding honesty,
And knows all qualities with a learned spirit
Of human dealings : if I do prove her haggard,
Though that her jesses were my dear heart strings,
I'd whistle her off and let her down the wind
To prey at fortune. Hapiy, for I am black.
And have not those soft parts of conversation.
That chamberers have ; or, for I am declin'd
Into the vale of years — yet that's not much ; —
She's gone, I am abus'd, and my relief
Must be — to loath her. Oh the curse of marriage,
That we can call these delicate creatures our's
And not their appetites ! Shakes. Othello.

MODESTY, SUBMISSION.

Modesty is a diffidence of ourselves, accompanied
with a delicacy in our sense of whatever is mean,
indecent, or dishonourable ; or a fear of doing these
things, or of having them imputed to us. Submis-
sion is an humble sense of our inferiority, and a qui^
et surrender of our powers to a superiour. Modesty
bends the body forward, has a placid, downcast
countenance, levels the eyes to the breast, if not to
the feet, of the superiour character : the voice is low,
the tone submissive, and the words few. Submis-
sion adds to these a lower bending of the head, and
a spreading of the arms and hands downwards to-
wards the person we submit to.

Modesty on heing appointed to a high Station.

Now, good my lord.
Let there be some more test made of my metalf
Before so noble, and so great a figure
Be stamp'd upon it. Shakes. Meat, far Meqt,

Suimission on Forgivenest of Crime.

O noble sir !
Your over>kindness doth wring tears from zne.:

ELOCUTION.

tSfl

I do embrace your offer, and dispose

From henceforth of poor Claudio. Shales, Much Ado^ t*fe,

SHAME.

Shame, or a sense of appearing to a disadvantage
before one*s own fellow-creatures, turns away the
face from the beholders, covers it with blushes,
hangs the head, casts down the eyes, draws down and
contracts the eye-brows. It either strikes the per-
son dumb, or, if he attempts to say any thing in his
own defence, causes his tongue to falter, confounds
his utterance, and puts him upon making a thousand
gestures and grimaces to keep himself in counte-
nance ; all which only heighten his confusion and
embarrassment.

Shame at being convicted of a Crime,

Oh my dread lord— »
I should be guiltier than my guiltiness.
To think I can be undiscemible
When I perceive your grace, like power divine.
Hath look'd upon my passes ; then, good prince,
No longer session hold upon my shame.
But let my trial he mine own confession :
Immediate sentence then, and sequent death
Is all the grace 1 beg. Ibid. Meat, for Meas.

GRAVITY.

Gravity, or seriousness, as when the mind is fixed,
or deliberating on some important subject, smooths
the countenance, and gives it an air of melanchoh- ;
the eye-brows are lowered, the eyes cast do-WTiwards,
the mouth almost shut, and sometimes a little con-
tracted. The posture of the body and limbs is com-
posed, and without much motion : the speech slow
and solemn, the tone without much variet3%

Grave Deliberation on IVar and Peace.

Fathers, we once again are met in council :
Csesar's approach has summon'd us together,

358 ELEMENTS OF

And Rome attends her fate from our resolves*

How shall we treat this bold aspiring man ?

Success still follows him, and backs his crimes :

Pharsalia gave him Rome. Egypt has since

Received his yoke, and the whole Nile is Cxsar^s.

Why should 1 mention Juba's overthrow,

Or Scipio's death ? Numidia's burning sands

Still smoke with blood : 'Tis time we should decree

What course to take ; our foe advances on us.

And envies us even Lybia's sultry deserts.

Fathers, pronounce your thoughts ; are they still fix'd

To hold it out and fight it to the last ?

Or are your hearts subdu'd at length, and wrought.

By time and ill success, to a submissioa ?

Sempronius, speak. j4Mson*s Caie.

INQUIRY.

Inquiry into some difficult subject, fixes the body
nearly in one posture, the head somewhat stoopingj
the eyes poring, andthe eye-brows contracted.

Inquiry mixed 'with Suspicion.

Pray you, once more —
Is not your father grown incapable
Of reas'nable affairs ? is he not stupid
With age and altering rheums ? Can he speak, hear.
Know man from man, dispute his own estate ?
Lies he not bed-rid, and again does nothing
But what he did being childish ?

Shalespearis Winter's Tale,

ATTENTION.

Attention to an esteemed or superiour character has
nearly the same aspect as Inquiry, and requires
silence ; the eyes often cast down upon the ground ;
sometimes fixed upon the face of the speaker, but not
too familiarly.

TEACHING OR INSTRUCTING.

Teaching, explaining, or inculcating, requires a
mild serene air, sometimes approaching to an authori-

ELOCUTION.

559

tative gravity ; the features and gestures altering ac-
cording to the age or dignity of the pupil, and
importance of the subject inculcated. To youth it
should be mild, open, serene, and condescending ;
to equals and superiours, modest, and diffident ; but
when the subject is of great dignity or importance, the
air and manner of conveying the instruction ougnt to
be firm and emphatical, the eye steady and open, the
eye-brow a little drawn down over it, but not so much
as to look surly or dogmatical ; the pitch of voice
ought to be strong, steady, and clear, the articulation
distinct, the utterance slow, and the manner approach-
ing to confidence. ,

Instruction lo modest Toutb.

Pol. Wherefore, gentle maiden.
Do you neglect your gilly-flowers and carnations ?

Per. I have heard it said.
There is an art which in their pledness shares
With great creating nature.

Pol. Say there be,
Yet nature is made better by no mean.
But nature makes that mean ; so over that ar,t
Which you say adds to nature, is an art
Which nature makes ; you see, sweet maid, we man^y
A gentler scyon to the wildest stock ;
And make conceive a bark of baser kind
By bud of nobler race. This is an art
Which does mend nature, change it rather ; but
The art itself is nature. Shakespeare's IVinter's Tale.

Ittstruction to an Inferhnr-.

Angelo— ^
There is a kind of character in thy life
That to the observer doth thy history
Fully unfold ; Thyself and thy belongings
Are not thine own so proper, as to waste
Thyself upon thy virtues, them on thee.
Heav'n doth with us as we with torches do.
Not light them for themselves : for if our virtues
Did not go forth of us, 'twere all alike

360 ELEMENTS OF

As if we had them not. Spirits are not finely touched

But to fine issues ; nature never lends

The smallest scruple of her excellence ;

But like a thrifty goddess she determines

Herself the glory of a creditor.

Both thanks and use. But I do bend my speech

To one that can in my part me advertise.

Hold therefore, Angelo —

In our remove be thou at full ourself.

Mortality and mercy in Vienna

Live in thy tongue and heart : Old Escalus,

Though first in question, is thy secondary :

Take thy commission. Shakes. Meas.for Meat,

ARGUING.

Arguing requires a cool, sedate, attentive aspect,
and a clear, slow, and emphatical accent, with much
demonstration by the hand ; it assumes somewhat of
authority, as if fully convinced of the truth of what
it pleads for, and sometimes rises to great vehemence
and energy of assertion ; the voice clear, bold, disr
tinct, and firm, as in confidence.

Reasoning lulth deference to others*

Ay, but yet
Let us be keen, and rather cut a little,
Than fall and bruise to death. Alas ! this gentleman.
Whom I would save, had a most noble father !
I>et but your honour know, (whom I believe
To be most straight in virtue,)
That in the working of your own afFections,
Had time coher'd with place, or place w'xih wishing.
Or that the resolute acting of your blood
Could have attain'd th' effect of your own purpose.
Whether you had not some time in your life
Err'd in this point which now you censure him.
And pulled the law upon you. Shakes. Meas.for Mtasu

Reasoning 'warmly.

By my white beard.
You offer him, if this be so, a wrong*

ELOCUTION. 361

Something unfilial : Reason, my son

Should choose himself a wife ; but as good reason.

The father, (all whose joy is nothing else

But fair posterity) should hold some counsel

In such a business. Ibid. IVinter's Tale.

Argument asitrting right to Property.

As I was banish'd, I was banish'd Hereford j
But as I come, I come for Lancaster :
And, noble uncle, I beseech your grace,
Look on my wrongs with an indifferent eye :
You are my father, for, methinks, in you
I see old Gaunt aiive ; O, then, my father !
Will you permit that I should stand condemn'd
A wand'ring vagabond ; my rights and royalties
Pluck'd from my arms perforce, and given away
To upstart unthrifts ? Wherefore was I born ?
If that my cousin king be king of England,
It must be granted, I am duke of Lancaster.
You have a son, Aumerle, my noble kinsman ;
Had you first dy'd, and he been thus trod down.
He should have found his uncle Gaunt a father.
To rouse his wrongs, and chase them to the bay,
I am deny'd to sue my livery here.
And yet my letters-patents give me leave :
My father's goods are all distrain'd and sold ;
And these, and all, are all amiss employ'd.
What would you have me do ? I am a subject.
And challenge law : Attornles are deny'd me ;
And therefore personally I lay my claim
To my inheritance of free descent. Shakes. Rich, II.

ADMONITION.

Admonition assumes a grave air, bordering on
severity ; the head is sometimes shaken at the person
we admonish, as if we felt for the miseries he was
likely to bring upon himself ; the right hand is directed
to the person spoken to, and the fore-finger, project-
ed from the rest, seems to point out more particularly
the danger we give warning of ; the voice assumes
a low tone, bordering on a monotone, with a mixture
of severity and sympathy, of pity and reproach,
46

362 ELEMENTS OF

/idmonition to execute Laws strictly.

*Tts one thing to be tempted, £scalus>
Another thing to fall. I not deny,
The jury, passing on the prisoner's life.
May, in the sworn twelve, have a thief or two.
Guiltier than him they try ; what's open made to justice,
That justice seizes. What know the laws
That thieves do pass on thieves ? 'tis very pregnant.
The jewel that we find, we stoop and take it.
Because we see it ; but what we do not see.
We tread upon, and never think of it.
You may not so extenuate his oiFence,
For I have had such faults ; but rather tell me.
When I that censure him, do so offend.
Let mine own judgment pattern out my death.
And nothing come in partial* Sir, he must die.

Shakesp. Meas.for Meof.

Admomt'ton to beware of complaisance in Friendship.

Ever note, Lucilius,
When love begins to sicken and decay,
It useth an enforced ceremony.
There are no tricks in plain and simple faith :
But hollow men, like horses hot at hand.
Make gallant shew, and promise of their mettle :
But when they should endure the bloody spur,
They fall their crests, and, like deceitful jades.
Sink in the trial. Comes his army on ? Ibid. Jul. Cas.

Admonition to act justly.

Remember March, the ides of March remember !
Did not great Julius bleed for justice' sake ?
What villain touch'd his body, that did stab.
And not for justice ? What, shall one of us,
That struck the foremost man of all this world,
But for supporting robbers ; shall we now
Contaminate our fingers with base bribes ?
And sell the mighty space of our large honours.
For so much trash, as may be grasped thus ? —
I'd rather be a dog, and bay the moon,
Than such a Roman. Ib'td, Jul, Cats,

ELOCUTION. 363

AUTHORITY.

Authority opens the countenance, but draws down
the eye-brows a little, so as to give the look an air of
gravity.

* AuthortUy forbiddiog Combatants tojight.

Let them lay by their helmets and their spears.
And both return back to their chairs again :—
Withdraw with us, and let tlie trumpets sound,
Wliile we return these dukes what we decree.
Draw near- ■

And list what with our council we hav6 done.
For that our kingdom's earth should not be soil'd
With that dear blood which it hath fostered ;
And for our eyes do hate the dire aspect
Of civil wounds, plough'd up with neighbour's swordS)
Therefore we banish you our territories :
You, cousin Hereford, upon pain of death,
Till twice five summers have enrich'd our fields,
Shall not regreet our fair dominions,
But tread the stranger paths of banishment.

Ibid. Richard. II.

COMMANDING.

Commanding requires an air a little more peremp-
tory, with a look a little severe, or stern. The hand
is held out, and moved towards the person to whom
the order is given, with the palm upwards, and some-
times it is accompanied by a nod of the head to the
person commanded. If the command be absolute,
and to a person unwilling to obey, the right hand is
extended and projected forcibly towards the person
commanded.

Commanding Combatants tojight.

We were not born to sue, but to command ;
Which since we cannot do to make you friends,
Be ready, as your lives shall answer it,
At Coventry, upon St. Lambert's day ;

364 BLEMBNTS OF

There shall your swords and lances arbitrate

The swelling difference of your settled hate.

Since we cannot atone you, you shall see

Justice decide the victor's chivalry.

Lord Marshal, command our officers at arms.

Be ready to direct these home alarms. Shaka. Rich. IT.

FORBIDDING.

Forbidding draws the head backwards, and push
cs the arm and hand forwards, with the palm down-
wards, as if going to lay it upon the person, and hold
him down immoveable, that he may not do what is
forbidden him : the countenance has the air of aver-
sion, the voice is harsh, and the manner peremp-
tory.

Forbidding to break Orders*

On pain of death, no person be so bold.
Or daring hardy, as to touch the lists,
Except the marshal, and such officers
Appointed to direct these fair designs. IhiJg

AFFIRMING.

Affirming, with a judicial oath, is expressed by
lifting the right hand and eyes towards heaven ; or
if conscience is appealed to, by laying the right hand
open upon the hr.iast, exactly upon the heart ; the
voice low and solemn, the words slow and deliberate :
but when the affirmation is mixed with rage or re-
sentment, the voice is more open and loud, the
words quicker, and the countenance has all the con-
fidence of strong and peremptory assertion.

jiffirmng an Accusation.

My lord Aumerle, I know your daring tongue

Scorns to unsay what once it hath deliver'd :

In that dead time when Glo'ster's death was plotted.

fiLocuTidw. S65

1 heard you say, — " Is not my arm of length

«* That reacheth from the restful English court>

*• As far as Calais to my uncle's head ?"

Among much other talk, that very time

I heard you say, you rather had refuse

The offer of an hundred thousand crowns

Than Bolingbroke return to England :

Adding, withal, how blest this Und would be.

In this your cousin's death.

If that thy valour stand on sympathies,

There is my gage, Aumerle, in gage to thine.

I heard thee say, and vauntingly thou spak'st it.

That thou wert cause of noble Glo'ster's death !

If thou deny's it, twenty times thou liest ;

And I will turn thy falsehood to thy heart.

Where it was forged, with my rapier's point. Rich. //.

DENYING.

Denying what is affirmed is but an affirmation of
the contrary, and is expressed like affirmation. De-
nying a favom- — see Refusing.

Denying an /Icctuation.

If I in act consent, or sin of thought,
Be guilty of the stealing that sweet breath.
Which was embounded in that beauteous clay.
Let hell want pains enough to torture me !
1 left him well. King Johut

DIFFERING.

Differing in sentiment may be expressed nearly as
refusing. See Refusing.

Differing about the conduct of a War.

Bru. Well, to our work alive. What do you think
Of marching to Philippi presently ?

Cas. I do not think it good.

Bru. Your reason ?

Cas. This it is ;
'Tis better that the enemy seek us,
So shall he waste his means, weary his soldieri,

366 ELEMENTS OF

Doing himself offence ; whilst we, lying still,
Are mil of rest, defence, and nimbleness.

Bru. Good reasons must of force give place to better.
The people 'twixt Phillppi and this ground.
Do stand but in a forc'd affection ;
For they have grudg'd us contribution.
The enemy marching along by them.
By them shall make a fuller number up,
Come on refresh'd, new added, and encouraged j
From which advantage shall we cut him off.
If at Phihppi we do face him there.
These people at our backs.

Cos. Hear me, good brother ■

Bru. Under your pardon — Yqu must note beside.
That we have tried the utmost of our friends,
Our legions are brimful, our cause is ripe ;
The enemy increaseth every day.
We, at the height, are ready to decline.
There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune ;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves.
Or lose our ventures. Shakesp. Jul. Cas.

AGREEING.

Agreeing in opinion, or being Convinced, is ex-
pressed nearly as granting. See Granting.

^^reeing in an JSnterprize.

Post. I embrace these conditions ; let us have Articles
betwixt us ; only tlius far you shall answer, if you make your
addesses to her, and give me directly to understand you have
prevailed, I am no farther your enemy ; she is not worth our
debate. If she remain unseduced, you not making it appear
otherwise ; for your ill opinion, and the assault you have
made to her chastity, you shall answer me with your sword.

Jac. Your hand, a covenant ; we will have these things set
down by lawful counsel, and straightway for Britain, lest the
bargain should catch cold and starve. I will fetch my gold,
and have our two. wagers recorded. Ibid. CymbeUne,

ELOCUTION. ^67

JUDGING.

Judging, demands a grave steady look, with deep
attention, the countenance altogether clear from any
appearance, either of disgust or favour. The pro-
nunciation slow, distinct, and emphatical, accom-
panied with little action, and that very ^ave.

Judging according to strict Lmv^

Her. I beseech your grace that I may know,
The worst that may befall me in this case,
If I refuse to wed Demetrius.

Thes. Either to die the death, or to abjure
For ever the society of men.
Therefore, fair Hermia, question your desires.
Know of your youth, examine well your bIood>
"Whether, not yielding to your father's choice)
You can endure the livery of a nun,
For aye to be in shady cloister mew'd,
To live a barren sister all your life.
Chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon.
Thrice blessed they that master so their blood.
To undergo su^h maiden pilgrimage !
But earlier happy is the rose distill'd
Than that which, withering on the virgin thorn,
Grows, lives, and dies in single blessedness.

Her. So will I grow, so live, so die, my lord.
Ere I will yield up my virginity
Unto his lordship, to whose unwish'd yoke
My soul consents not to give sovereignty.

Thes. Take time to pause, and by the next new moon,
(The sealing day betwixt my love and me.
For everlasting bond of fellowship)
Upon that day either prepare to die
For disobedience to your father's will.
Or else to wed Demetrius, as he would.
Or on Diana's altar to protest
For aye austerity and single life.

Shaiesp. Mids. Night* t Dream.

REPROVING.

Reproving puts on a stem aspect, roughens the
voice, and is accompanied with gestures^ not much

368 ELEMENTS OF

different from those of threatening, but not so lively.
It is like Reproach, but without the sourness and
ill-nature. See Reproach.

Reproving ivith Authority.

How comes it, Cassio, you are thus forgot.
That you unlace your reputation thus.
And spend your rich opinion for the name
Of a night brawler ? Give me answer to it.

Shakespeare s Othello.

ACQUITTING.

Acquitting is performed with a benevolent, tran-
quil countenance, and mild tone of voice ; the right
hand is open, and waved gently towards the person
acquitted, expressing dismission. See Dismiss-
ing.

CONDEMNING.

Condemning assumes a severe look, but some-
times mixed with pity. The sentence is expressed
either with severity or pity, according to the guilt of
the person condemned.

Passing sentence nuith Severity.

For this new-married man approaching here,

Whose salt imagination yet hath wrong'd

Your well-defended honour ; you must pardon him

For Mariana's sake ; but as a judge.

Being doubly criminal, in violation

Of sacred chastity, and in promise breach.

Thereon dependent for your brother's life,

The very mercy of the law cries out

Most audible, ev'n from his proper tongue.

An Angelo for Claudio ; death for death.

Haste still pays haste, and leisure answers leisure ;

Like doth quit like, and measure still for measure.

Then, Angelo, thy faults are manifest ;

Which, tho' thou would'st deny 'em, deny thee Vantage.

ELOCUTlt>N. 369

We do condemn thee to the very block

Where Claudio stoop'd to death, and with like haste.

Away with him. Shakes. Meas.for Meat.

Passing sentence with Pity and Reluctance.

God quit you in his mercy I Hear your sentence :
You have conspir'd against our royal person,
Join'd with an enemy, and from his coflPers
Receiv'd the golden earnest of our death ;
Wherein you would have sold your king to slaughter,
His princes and his peers to servitude,
His subjects to oppression and contempt,
And his whole kingdom into desolation.
Touching our person, seek we no revenge ;
But we our kingdom's safety must so tender.
Whose ruin you three sought, that to her laws
We do deliver you. Go, therefore, hence,
Poor miserable wretches, to your death.
The taste whereof, God of his mercy give
You patience to endure, and true repentance
Of all your dire offences. Bear them hence.

• linJ. Hen. V.

PARDONING.

Pardoning differs from acquitting in this : the lat-
ter means clearing a person after trial of guilt, where-
as the former supposes guilt, and signifies merely
delivering the guilty person from punishment. Par-
doning requires some degree of severity of aspect
and tone of voice, because the pardoned person ist
not an object of entire unmixed approbation.

Pardoning a cruel Prosecution,

That thou may'st see the difference of our spirits,
1 pardon thee thy life before thou ask'st it :
For half thy wealth, it is Anthonio's ;
The other half comes to the general state
Which humbleness may drive into a fine.

Ibid. M(rth. of Vm.
17

370 ELEMENTS OF

DISMISSING.

Dismissing, with approbation, is done with a kind
aspect and tone of voice : the right hand open, the
palm upwards, gently waved towards the person.
Dismissing, with displeasure, besides the look and
tone of voice which suits displeasure, the hand is
hastily thrown out towards the person dismissed, the
back part of the hand towards him, and the coun-
tenance at the same time turned away from him.

Dismissing 'with Complaisance.

Chat. Then take my king's defiance from my mouth,
The farthest limit of my embassy.

K. John. Bear mine to him, and so depart in peace :
Be thou as lightning in the eyes of France,
For, ere thou canst report I will be there.
The thunder of my cannon shall be heard ;
So hence ! Be thou the trumpet of our wrath.
And sullen presage of your own decay. —
An honourable conduct let him have ; —
Pembroke, look to't : — farewell, Chatillon.

Shakes. King John,

REFUSING.

Refusing, when accompanied with displeasure, is
done nearly in the same way as dismissing with dis-
pleasure. Without displeasure, it is done with a
visible reluctance, which occasions bringing out the
words slowly, with such a shake of the head and
shrug of the shoulders, and hesitation in the speech,
as implies perplexity between granting and refusing,
as in the following example :

Refusing to lend Money,

They answer in a joint and corporate voice.
That now they are at fall, want treasure, cannot
Do what they would ; are sorry — you are honourable-—
But yet they could have wish'd— they know not —

ELOCUTION. 371

Something hvith been amiss — a noble nature

May catch a wrench — would all were well — 'tis pity ;

And so intending other serious matters,

After distasteful looks and tliese hard fractions

With certain half-caps, and cold-moving nods,

They frote me into silence. Shakes. Ttmon of Athens .

Refusing with Displeasure.

Met. Most high, most mighty, and most puiqsant Czsar,
Metellus Cimber throws before thy seat
An humble heart.

Ctes. I must prevent thee, Cimber ;
These couchings, and these lowly courtesies
Might fire the blood of ordinary men.
And turn pre-ordinance, and first decree
Into the lane of children. Be not fond.
To think that Caesar bears such rebel blood.
That will be thaw'd from the true quality
With tliat which melteth fools ; 1 mean, sweet words,
Low-crooked curt'sies, and base spaniel fawning.
Thy brother by decree is banished ;
If thou dost bend, and pray, and fawn for him,
I spurn thee like a cur out of my way.
Know, Caesar doth not wrong, nor without cause
Will he be satisfied. Ibid. Jul. Cas.

GIVING, GRANTING,

When done with unreserved good- will, is accom-
panied witli a benevolent aspect, and tone of voice ;
the right hand open, with the palm upwards, extend-
ing towards the person we favour, as if delivering
to him what he asks ; the head at the same time in-
clining forwards, as indicating a benevolent disposi-
tion and entire consent.

Giving a Daughter in Marriage.

Pros. If I have too severely punished you,
Your compensation makes amends ; for I
Have given you here a third of mine own life,
Or that for which I live, whom once again
I tender to thy hand : all thy vexations

372 ELEMENTS OF

Were but my trials of thy love, and thou

Hast strangely stood the test. Here, afore lieav'n,

I ratify this my rich gift : O Ferdinand,

Do not smile at me that I boast her off ;

For thou shalt find she will outstrip all praise,

And make it halt behind her.

Fer. I do believe it
Against an oracle.

Pros. Then as my gift, and thine own acquisition,
Wortliily purchas'd, take my daughter. Shakes. Tempest,

GRATITUDE.

Gratitude puts on an aspect full of complacency.
If the object of it be a character greatly superiour, it
expresses much submission. The right hand open
with the fingers spread, and pressed upon the breast
just over the he rt, expresses very properly a sincere
and hearty sensibility of obligation.

Gratitude for great Benejits.

O great Sciolto ! O my more than father !
Let me not live, but at thy very name
^ly eager heart springs up and leaps with joy.
When I forget the vast, vast debt I owe thee —
(Forget — but 'tis impossible) then let me
F"orget the use and privilege of reason.
Be banish'dfrom the commerce of mankind,
To wander in the desert among brutes,
To bear the various tury of the seasons.
The midnight cold, and noon-tide scorching heat,
Xo be the scorn of earth, and curse of heaven.

Roives Fair Penitent.

CURIOSITY.

Curiosity opens the eyes and mouth, lengthens
the neck, bends the body fonvards, and fixes it in
one posture, nearly as in 'Admiration. When it
speaks, the voice, tone, and gesture, nearly as In-
quiry, See Inc^uiry.

ELOCUTION. 373

Curiosity at first seeing a fine Object,

Pros. The fringed curtains of thine eye advance,
And say what thou seest yond.

Mir. What ! is't a spirit ?
Lo, how it looks about ! believe me. Sir,
It carries a brave form. But 'tis a spirit.

Pros. No, wench, it eats and sleeps, and hath such senses
As we have, such.

Mir. I might call him
A thing divine, for nothing natural,
1 ever saw so noble. Shakes. Tempest.

PROMISING.

Promising is expressed by benevolent looks, a
soft but earnest voice, and sometimes by inclining
the head, and hands open, with the palms upwards,
towiu'ds the person to whom the promise is made.
Sincerity in promising is expressed by laying the
right hand gently on the left breast.

Promise of prosperous Events.

I'll deliver all,
And promise you calm seas, auspicious gales.
And sail so expeditious, it shall catch
Your royal fleet far off. Ibidem.

VENERATION,

To parents, supcriours, or persons of eminent vir-
tue, is an humble and respectful ackno\\iedgment
of their excellence, and our own inferiority. The
head and body is inclined a little forward, and the
hand, with the palm downward, just raised so as to
meet the inclination of the body, and then let fall
again with apparent timidity and diffidence ; the
eye is sometimes lifted up, and then immediately
cast downward, as if unworthy to behold the object
before it ; the eye- brows arc drawn doun ; the
features, and the whole body and limbs, arc all

374 ELEMENTS OF

composed to the most profound gravit}^ When
this rises to adoration of the Almighty Creator and
Director of all things, it is too sacred to be imitated,
and seems to demand that humble annihilation of
ourselves, which must ever be the consequence of
a just sense of the Divine Majesty, and our own un-
wortliiness.

RESPECT

Is but a less degree of veneration, and is nearly
allied to modesty.

DESIRE

Expresses itself by bending the body forwards,
and sti'etching the arms towards the object, as to
gi'asp it. The countenance smiling, but eager and
wishful ; the eyes wide open, and eye-brows raised ;
the mouth open ; the tone of voice suppliant, but
lively and cheerful, unless there be distress as well as
desire ; the expressions fluent and copious ; if no
words are used, sighs instead of them ; but this is
chiefly in distress.

COMMENDATION.

Commendation is the expression of the approba-
tion we have for any object in -w hich we find any
congruity to our ideas of excellence, natural, or
moral, so as to communicate pleasure. As commen-
dation generally supposes superiority in the person
commending, it assumes the aspect of love, (but with-
out desire and respect,) and expresses itself in a miid
tone of voice, with a small degree of confidence ;
the arms are gently spread, the hands open, with the
palms upwards, directed towards the person ap-
proved, and sometimes gently lifted up and down,
as if pronouncing his praise.

ELOCUTION. 375

Commendation for obliging Behaviour.

You have done our pleasures much grace, fair ladies ;
Set a fair fashion on our entertainment.
Which was not half so beautiful and kind ;
You've added worth unto't, and lively lustre,
And entertain'd me with mine own device :
I am to thank you for it. Timon ofAthem.

Commendation for Fidelity.

O good old man, how well in thee appears
The constant service of the antique world,
When service sweat for duty, not for meed !
Thou art not for the fashion of these times.
Where none will sweat but for promotion ;
And having that, do choke their service up.
Even with the having : It is not so with thee.

As Tou Like It.

EXHORTING;

Exhorting, or encouraging, is earnest persuasion,
attended with confidence of success. The voice has
the softness of love, intermixed with the firmness of
cou'-age ; the arms are sometimes spread, with the
hands open, as intreating ; and sometimes the right
hand is lifted up, and struck rapidly down, as enforc-
ing what we say.

Exhorting.

But wherefore do you droop ? Why look you sad -?
Be great in act as you have been in thought ;
Let not the world see fear and sad distrust
Govern the motion of a kingly eye :
Be stirring as the time ; be fire with fire ;
Threaten the threatener, and outface the brow
Of bragging horrour : so shall inferiour eyes.
That borrow their behaviours from the great.
Grow great by your example ; and put on
The dauntless spirit of resolution ;
Show boldness and aspiring confidence :
Wliat, shall they seek the lion in his den,

376 ELEMENTS OF

And fright him there, and make him tremble there ? —
Oh let it not be said ! — Forage, and run,
To meet displeasure farther from the doors,
And grapple with him ere he comes so nigh.

Shakeip. K. John.

COMPLAINING.

Complaining, as when one is under violent bod-
ily pain, distorts the features, almost closes the
eyes ; sometimes raises them wistfully ; opens the
mouth, gnashes the teeth, draws up the upper
lip, draws down the head upon the breast, and
contracts the whole body. The arms are violently
bent at the elbows, and the fists strongly clinched.
The voice is uttered in groans, lamentations, and
sometimes violent screams.

Complaining of extreme Pain.

Search there ; nay, probe me ; search my wounded reins —
Pull, draw it out —

Oh, I am shot ! A forked burning arrow
Sticks across my shoulders ; the sad venom flies
Like light'ning through my flesh, my blood, my marrow.
Ha ! what a change of torments I endure !
A bolt of ice runs hissing through my bowels ;
'Tis, sure, the arm of death ; give me a chair ;
Cover me, for I freeze, and my teeth chatter,
And my knees knock together. Lee's Alexander.

FATIGUE.

Fatigue from hard labour gives a general lan-
guor to the body ; the countenance is dejected, the
arms hang listless ; the body, if not sitting or ly-
ing along, stoops, as in old age ; the legs, if walk-
ing, are dragged heavily along, and seem at every
step to bend under tlie weight of the body. The
voice is weak, and hardly articulate enough to be
understood.

ELOCUTION. 377

Fatigue from Travelling,

I see a man's life is a tedious one :
I've tir'd myself, and, for two nights together,
Have made the ground my bed. I should be sick,
But that my resolution helps me. Milford,
When from the mountain top Pisanio show'd thee,
Thou wast within a ken. Oh me, I think
Foundations fly the wretched ; such, I mean.
Where they should be relieved. Shakespeare's Cymbeline.

Feebleness from Hunger.

Adam. Dear master, I can go no farther : Oh, I die for food !
here lie I down and measure out my grave. Farewell, kind
master-

Duke. Welcome : set down your venerable burden,
And let him feed.

Orla. I thank you most for him.

Adam. So had you need ;
I scarce can speak to thank you for myself.

lUd. As You Like It.

• SICKNESS.

Sickness has infirmity, or feebleness, in every mo-
tion and utterance ; the eyes dim and almost clos-
ed, the cheeks are pale and hollo^^ , the jaw falls,
the head hangs down, as if too heavy to be support-
ed by the neck ; the voice feeble, trembling, and
plaintive, the head shaking, and the whole body,
as it were, sinking under the weight that oppress^
es it.

Sickness approaching to Death.

And wherefore should this good news make me sick ?
I should rejoice now at this happy news.
And now my sight fails, and my brain is giddy : —

0 me ! come near me ; now I am much ill.

1 pray you take me up and bear me hence
Into some otlier chamber ; softly, pray —
Let there be no noise made, my gentle friends,

378 ELEMENTS OF

Unless some dull and favourable hand
Will whisper musick to my weary spirit.

Shaies. Hen. IF. 2nd Part.

Trifling as this selection of examples of the pas-
sions may appear, it is presumed it will be singular-
ly useful. The passions are every where to be found
in small portions, promiscuously mingled with each
other, but not so easily met with in examples of
length, and where one passion only operates at a
time : Such a selection, however, seemed highly
proper to facilitate the study of the passions, as it is
evident that the expression of any passion may be
sooner gained by confining our practice for a consid-
erable time to one passion only, than by passing ab-
ruptly from one to the other, as they promiscuously
occur ; which is the case with the Author to whom
I am so much indebted for the description of the
Passions, and with those who have servilely copied
him. The instances of a single passion which I have
selected, may be augmented at pleasure ; and when
the pupil has acquired the expression of each passion
singly, I would earnestly recommend to him to an-
alyze his composition, and carefully to mark it with
the several passions, emotions, and sentiments it con-
tains, by which means he will distinguish and
separate what is often mixed and confounded, and
be prompted to force and variety at almost every
sentence.

I am well aware, that the passions ai'e sometimes
so slightly touched, and often melt so insensibly into
each other, as to make it somewhat difficult pre-
cisely to mark their boundaries ; but this is no
argument against our marking them \vhere they are
distinct and obvious ; nor against our suggesting
them to those who may not l^e quite so clear-sighted
as ourselves. Indeed, the objection to this practice
seems entirely founded on these two misconceptions, :

ELOCUTION. 379

because we cannot perfectly delineate every shade of
sound or passion, we ought not to attempt any ap-
proaches to them ; and because good readers and
speakers have no need of these assistances, therefore
they are useless to every one else. But this reason-
ing, I am convinced, is so palpably wrong, as suf-
ficiently to establish the contrary opinion, without
any otlier argument in its favour.

THE END.

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